A Love Story
by Fall Down Again Bella
Summary: AU/All human. Bella and Edward fall in love at first sight, but their love is forbidden. Typical story, original plot. Sort of a modern day Romeo and Juliet, but more based off of a song. Will they live to see the day they can be together? Canon pairings
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Based of a certain song that will remain nameless till the end. And also it's somewhat based off Romeo and Juliet, but mostly the song. Bella and Edward fall in love at first sight. But will other circumstances keep them apart? Can their love survive? Modern day, all human. Canon pairings.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

BPOV

"Alice," I whined. "I really can't dance. I won't go."

"Bella. Your parents are throwing this stupid ball thing. You sort of have to be there," she said apologetically. "And I figured a ball is a perfect occasion to give you a lovely make over."

"And buy me, you and Rosalie _lovely_ dresses," I said, mocking her lightly. She stuck her tongue out at me and laughed.

"That too," she agreed.

"I mean, honestly, who throws a ball in the twenty-first century? Nobody, that's who," I ranted angrily.

"I think it's kind of cool. You get all dolled up and buy vintage dresses and dance. It's all so romantic," she sighed longingly. "I just have a feeling this is going to be a good night for all of us."

"My parents would be glad to hear you say that," I said, smiling slightly. I highly doubted this would be a good night for me. Any night that involved me and heels and dancing, was definitely not going to be a good night. But Alice was usually right about things like this. And I wanted the ball to be a success. I just didn't want to be there. Plus, it would make my parents happy.

"It's going to be good for you too Bella," she promised me. "I can feel it." I just rolled my eyes. Good nights didn't happen often for me. Sure, I had fun with Alice and Rosalie, and my parents were nice, and we were very well off, but this stuff was monotony to me. I was at a party every other night, or a cocktail dinner or something. Whether it be my parents, or the Brandon's or Hale's. But no matter what, there was a party. That's just what happened when you were some of the highest families in Washington state.

Normally, the parties thrown by my parents, and my friend's were unrivaled by anyone. It was hard to outdo them. But that didn't stop the Masen's, Whitlock's or McCarty's. They threw the only parties that were equivalent to the one's I was used to. They made just as much money as us, and were just as good looking, or so I've been told. My parents didn't allow me anywhere near those families.

I don't even remember how their feud got started. I think it was something like, the Whitlock's threw a part on the same night as the Hale's and guests were undecided about which party to attend. The entire city was basically separated into two groups, us and them. The us was everyone that attended the Hale's party, so basically, my family, Alice's and Rosalie's, along with half the state. And the them was the McCarty's, Whitlock's and Masen's, and the other half of the state. Our families had been working to outdo them for years.

So the reason my family was even having this ball, was because the Masen's had thrown a masquerade and my parents just had to one up them. So I blame the Masen family for this one. The usual families would be attending, but you could always count on at least one crasher from the other side. Someone to report on what the party was like. They were normally allowed. No one really said anything, as long as they didn't cause trouble. If we wanted the enemies to know what our party was like, the crasher needed to stay.

Luckily, Rosalie, Alice and I had never been recruited to crash one of their parties. So far a few kids from our school had- Angela Weber, Mike Newton, Jessica Stanley- but that's about it. Mostly adults had gone. But since we were eighteen and just graduated high school, we were most likely going to be sent along. And, although I'd never admit this to anyone, I was sort of excited to see what all the fuss was about. To see if their parties were really all that great.

"I have arrived." Alice and I both turned to see Rosalie Hale in the doorway, her blond hair curled into a Marie Antoinette type hairstyle. Not the really tall one, but the nice one. She was wearing a gorgeous red strapless dress. The top part was tight and had silver beading that ended in a small, red bow. The rest of her dress flared out until it hit the floor in a splash of red. A beautiful ruby necklace was draped around her neck, the only item on her bare neck and shoulders. She looked stunning. **(Pic on profile)**

"Whoa girl. You look hot," I exclaimed. Rosalie smiled and thanked me, doing a little twirl to show off her dress.

"Tell your parents I love the theme. They should throw balls more often," she gushed. I rolled my eyes. Of course Rosalie would love it.

"I'm going to change into my dress. Bella, go get yours on so we can finish with your hair," Alice instructed. I gave her a military salute and she shook her head before turning to Rosalie. "And Rose I love that necklace. Where did you get it?" I left for the bathroom, leaving the two of them in a discussion on accessories. I walked into my master bathroom and peeled off my sweats. I grabbed the dress Alice had given me.

My dress was a dark, midnight blue, with spaghetti straps. The top was tight with two black beaded designs going across my chest and stomach. It was sort of tight and scrunched a bit at the top, but it flared our into ruffles as it fell to the floor. It complimented my body shape, and my skin color, and I had to admit, I loved it. **(Pic on profile)**

I pulled it on quickly, being careful not to rip the silky smooth fabric. I looked at the death traps called shoes Alice had given me. They were silver sandals with high heels. Very high heels. I would just have to sneak some flip-flops into my bag for later. After all, my dress went all the way to the floor, so it's not like anyone would see them anyways.

"How do I look?" I asked as I carefully exited the bathroom. Alice and Rosalie's jaws both dropped. Alice was still in her day clothes.

"You. Look. Amazing!" they exclaimed in unison. I giggled and blushed.

"I knew that color blue would look fabulous with your skin," Alice gushed instantly.

"And that dress hugs your curves so great. It makes you look so much older. More mature," Rosalie said excitedly. "It's perfect. Almost like it was made just for you." I could feel my face heating up to rival a fire truck, so I quickly changed the subject.

"Well Alice? Where's your dress?" I demanded. Alice grinned eagerly and grabbed it, rushing into the bathroom.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One," Rosalie and I counted together. Alice popped out of the door, already dressed in her gown. Alice could put Superman to shame.

Alice's dress was a gorgeous black and white tube top dress. The top part was white, with three sort of thick black stripes going horizontally, and three smaller ones above those. There was also one vertical strip going down the side. Once the dress hit her waist, it flared out in a black, netting material. She also had black gloves that reached up to her elbows on her hands. **(Pic on profile)**

"Before you comment," Alice said quickly. "Let me put on my jewelry." She strolled past us and grabbed a string of pearls off of my dresser, draping them around her neck. She also grabbed dangling pearl earrings that almost hit her shoulders, as well as a pearl bracelet, which she slid over her black glove. Then she turned back to us, waving her hand to let us know we could comment now.

"You look fabulous!" I squealed instantly.

"Oh my God, I love it!" Rosalie said eagerly. Alice did a small twirl.

"Okay Bella, plant it. Time to fix your hair." I groaned and Alice pushed on my shoulders and I fell onto the chair by my vanity mirror (mostly for Alice's use.) She instantly went to work with my hair. She fixed it so it was in loose waves, a few pieces clipped back out of my eyes. She handed me a diamond necklace and bracelet to put on, and I did. She touched a bit of make-up to my face and announced I was done. I couldn't help but smile at my face in the mirror. I certainly wasn't as gorgeous as the rest of the upper class in Washington, but I looked beautiful.

"I love it. Thanks Alice." I stood and hugged her. She beamed back.

"My pleasure. Trust me." Alice's hair was short enough that she didn't need to do anything to it but brush it. It fell to the tip of her chin.

"Everyone ready to go? The party starts in like ten minutes and Bella, being a hostess, needs to get her ass over there," Rosalie said, planting her hands on her hips.

"Yes, we're ready," Alice decided for both of us. "Let's go." She grabbed a black beaded clutch and the three of us made our way outside, to the small limo that was waiting for us. I managed to sneak a pair of flip-flops into my bag, having to cram them in to fit, along with my cell phone. But it was well worth it to save myself from the horror of heels.

The car sped towards the hall where my parents were having the ball. It was a few floors up, so we had to take an elevator up. The three of us made our way inside and I couldn't help but gape at what I saw. The room was decorated to look exactly like something out of a romance novel, or a19th century novel. Everything was draped in velvet, their were waiters strolling around with trays of food and champagne. It was amazing. Everyone who had arrived looked like movie stars, taken straight from the set.

"Isabella, darling!" Renee came over to me, kissing both of my cheeks. "How lovely of you to come dear. I was beginning to think you would never arrive," she trilled, laughing delicately. She sounded so formal, like I wasn't even her daughter, merely another guest. Alice and Rosalie gave me sympathetic looks and went off to find their families, so they could be treated in the same manner I was being treated in now. What a wonderful life.

"Of course not Mother, you can always count on Rosalie and Alice to drag me to parties," I said softly, giving her a small smile, wishing she would just drop the façade and be a mom.

"Of course dear, of course," she said, sounding distracted. I looked over my shoulder and saw the Newton family arriving and I bit my lip to hide a groan. Of all people, did Mike Newton really need to come to my family's party and torture me? Mike was in puppy love with me, and was as close to a stalker as you could get without actually breaking the law. I hated him with everything in me, but since he was part of the "acceptable" crowd, my parents expected me to be cordial to him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Newton!" Renee sang, taking a few steps towards her newly arrived guests. "How marvelous of you to come! Isabella come say hello to Michael." She grabbed my hand and yanked me to her side.

"Hi," I said awkwardly.

"Hi Bella," Mike said huskily.

"Isabella, dear, keep Michael company while I show Mrs. Newton the lovely clothe napkins we were able to find," Renee said dismissively. If she had known me at all, she would have seen how miserable I was with Mike. But she didn't care. She blew me a kiss and turned off, already talking to Mrs. Newton. "These napkins were actually created in the early 1900s, sewn by hand, each on is completely unique…" I just rolled my eyes and turned back to see Mike, looking eager and excited.

"Hey Bella," he said again. "It's really great to see you again."

"You too Mike," I said, lying through my teeth. I used to be a horrible liar, but I was so used to it now, having to lie in front of my parents, or people like Mike.

"You look really beautiful," he said awkwardly. I could tell he was nervous and uncomfortable. I was just annoyed, praying someone would come save me soon.

"Thanks," I replied. "And you look…nice." Another lie. Mike looked anything but nice. He looked like his mother had picked out his tux. She probably did. He shuffled his feet, trying to think of something to say. _How about goodbye?_ I thought to myself.

"Your parents did a great job with the party," he said, gesturing to the crowd around us. It had grown immensely. People were dressed in their finest gowns, and everyone looked beautiful, the men all looked dashing in their suits. There were tons of faces I didn't recognize. I wondered which one of these people could be the crasher from the other side.

"Oh Bella there you are!" I felt a warm arm lace through mine and I sighed in relief. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Jacob," I said in response. "How are you?"

"I'm fine Bella. I haven't seen you in what feels like years!" he said, overly exaggerating his words. I bit back laughter. Jacob is my best guy friend, part of the Black family, one of our closest friends. He was luckily part of the "acceptable" crowd.

"It has been too long Jake," I agreed. "We must catch up. I'll see you later Mike." I gave him a small goodbye wave and strode off with Jake, both of us breaking into fits of laughter.

"Thank you so much. I thought I was going to have to stand there with Mike all night," I giggled. Jacob chuckled.

"You practically had a big sign over your head, flashing 'help me,'" he teased. "I know a damsel in distress when I see one."

"My hero," I said in a fake southern accent. Jacob laughed again.

"So would you honor your hero with a dance?" he asked, holding out his arm.

"I can't dance Jake," I whispered. He bit his lip to keep from laughing at my panic.

"Sure, sure. Let's just get out there." He took my hand and placed it in the crook of his arm, holding his hand over mine to keep me there. I fought against him uselessly. He was a million times stronger then me. He led me out to the dance floor, where a few couples were already dancing. I could see Alice and an unfamiliar blond man. Their gazes were locked intensely, as if they were drinking in each other's faces. I looked away quickly.

"I can't dance," I said, my voice panicky. Jacob just rolled his eyes. He took one of my hands and placed it on his shoulder, and kept the other in his own. Then he placed his free hand on my waist and the two of us were twirling. I kept my pace with him, and he kept it slow for me, making sure my feet could keep up with his.

"See, this isn't so bad," Jacob said after a few minutes. I nodded my head in agreement, keeping my face focused on my feet. I mean, Jake's feet are big, and I didn't want to step on them. The song ended and everyone clapped for the live band my parents had provided- more of an orchestra, with the violins and such. I pulled my arms away from Jake and clapped along with everyone else, mostly just glad that the song was over.

"Hello." Jacob and I turned to see a pretty girl, about our age, with bronze hair and chocolate brown eyes, smiling sweetly at Jake. Jacob's eyes glazed over as he looked at her.

"Hey," Jacob said, his voice low and husky. The girl smiled shyly.

"My name is Ren. Are you two…together?" she asked, turning to me, biting her lip, her eyes anxious. I was slightly surprised she seemed so intense.

"No, we're just friends," Jacob answered before I could even open my mouth. The girl let out a breath and smiled. "Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to," she answered eagerly. Jacob swept Ren into his arms and she giggled excitedly. From the look in both of their eyes, I suddenly believed in love at first sight. They looked so cute and sweet together. I backed off, feeling oddly lonely. Alice was dancing with the cute blond, Jacob was with Ren, and I had no clue where Rosalie was off to. I sighed, and made my way out to the balcony. I slipped off my heels and slid on the flip-flops I had snuck for myself. I leaned on the railing and gazed at the streets below me, not really seeing as cars and people bustled about.

Out here, I was comfortable being alone. Sure, I wish I had some company, someone who would always be there for me. But being alone was okay too. I let my eyes slide closed as I took a deep breath, the scent of summer potent in the air. It wasn't things like balls and gowns that made me happy. I liked the simpler things, like the warm summer air. Like a cute romance novel, or a sweet love story. The simple things.

_A/N: Okay, not a very eventful first chapter, but I had to lead into the story. This is slightly based off Romeo and Juliet, but mostly the secret song. If anyone can guess, send me a PM and you'll get a dedication. But DON'T review it. Only PM's, so people can't steal your answer if you're right. Also, can anyone guess who Ren is? I mean it's pretty obvious. REVIEW!!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Congrats to kinziewriteslove, ShopaHolicWooHoo7, happy-alice, I Heart Eddie, bibliocrazed, lilypad95, KylieMie, .., geekyguirl, softballchica12, camshottie12, Bellashoulvebeen, Fatima-FireandIce, jenat10, bella-edward01616, asyouwish16, Myela Marea, edwards brunette, ktblove, twilight-is-lovee (although she got a few hints, I'll admit it), BubblyAmericanWriter1, mutantbabysmoshmortion and IOnlyMadeThisSoICouldReview. All of them guessed the song through private messages. If you guessed in a review, send me a private message with your guess and then I'll write you up here, if you're correct. Keep thinking everyone and I enjoy the chapter. It is Edward's point of view, so it's hard not to enjoy :)**

EPOV

"Edward, come upstairs please," my mother, Elizabeth, call ed. Emmett and Jasper both gave me sympathetic looks. The three of us were planning on hanging out for the night, staying in and playing video games. There was a party a few houses down as well, so if we got bored we could always go there. But they both knew that with out parents, no news was good news, so this had to be bad.

"Edward," Elizabeth called again, a bit more sternly. I rolled my eyes, but placed my Play station controller on the couch obediently and walked upstairs into my parent's master bedroom. Elizabeth was sitting by her vanity mirror, putting in a pair of diamond earrings.

"What is it Mother?" I asked tersely. She turned around and gave me a warning look. I sighed and rephrased my sentence. "What do you need me for Mother?" She smiled triumphantly.

"Well dear…I have a job for you. You're friends can tag along as well," she said importantly. A job? That sounded…interesting.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"A party. A ball, actually. Thrown by the Swan's." She said their name like a curse. I was shocked. We obviously weren't invited. Did she expect me to crash? And who the heck throws a ball?

"But I'm not invited," I said instantly. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Darling, we always allow a few crashers to check out the competition. They come to our parties too," she said condescendingly.

"They do?" I said, completely shocked. I usually stayed out of the party scene, but the few I had been to seemed to be made of our friends, not our enemies.

"Yes dear. And we always send a few people to their parties to check out the competition. We can't have everyone thinking they're better than us," Elizabeth said, as if the idea was positively scandalous. I pretty much ignored her.

"But why do I have to go? Wouldn't someone older, more experienced do better? Jasper, Emmett and I might get caught," I said quickly. I did not want to go to a ball. Dress up in a tuxedo and sit around all day listening to violins? No thank you. I mean, I like classical music, but only on the piano.

"Oh darling," she said, shaking her head at my naivety. "Like I said, we're as good as invited. As long as you keep quiet and don't cause any trouble, they won't say or do anything to you. I guarantee it." She sounded completely sure of herself.

"Yes, but why me?" I pressed. "Why us?"

"All of us adults have been, a few times each in fact. You're eighteen, it's about time you started doing this yourself," Elizabeth said firmly. "Plus, I doubt anyone will even recognize you, since you three hardly ever go to that side of town. It's perfect." I just shook my head.

"Do we have to?" I knew I sounded like a bratty kid, but I didn't really care. The look on Elizabeth's face told me the answer before her words did.

"Yes. Go tell Emmett and Jasper. We've already gotten suits for the three of you to wear, so you can just put them on and go along," she said, turning back to her mirror and grabbing a diamond necklace. I knew I was dismissed. I turned wordlessly and left the room, going back downstairs to the game room, finding Emmett and Jasper in an intense racing game, both of them twisting and turning with the movements of their cars. I stood in front of the TV, blocking their view.

"Hey!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Sorry guys. But we've been recruited," I said, rolling my eyes. "We're crashing a ball thrown by the Swan's."

"Ew. Why?" Jasper asked.

"I guess we've got to check out the competition," I said, shaking my head. "So that our parents can throw a ball even better than theirs."

"We don't have anything to wear," Emmett reminded me.

"My mom already picked stuff out for us apparently. It's upstairs. We're supposed to change and go." Emmett and Jasper groaned in unison.

"Well I guess there might be some hot babes there," Emmett said thoughtfully. Jasper punched his shoulder playfully.

"Perv," he said.

"What?" Emmett exclaimed. "I'm just saying…" I shook my head.

"Well let's go get ready," I sighed. Emmett and Jasper followed me upstairs, grumbling the whole way. We pulled on the three tuxes Elizabeth had left for us. They fit us perfectly.

"I bet our parents have been planning this since the day they found out about the ball," Emmett grumbled as he fixed his bow tie.

"Probably," I agreed. I pulled on my shoes and stood to check myself in the mirror. My tux was black with a plain white shirt underneath. It fit me comfortably. I decided not to do anything with my hair, since it would be just as messy as always. Jasper and Emmett followed my lead and left their hair as is. The three of us made our way downstairs to find a car waiting outside for us.

"Go ahead," I told the driver and he pulled out onto the street and started speeding down the road. It was silent for a moment. Except for a large clunking noise, like something thumping around in the trunk.

"Wait," Jasper said, holding up his hand. The thumping noise sounded again, definitely from the trunk. "Pull over," he said to the driver. I was sort of scared. What if we found a dead body back there? What if the driver killed us too, because we found the body? Nerves bubbled in my stomach as the driver slowly pulled over and stopped. The three of us climbed out of the car and went to the back. Jasper slowly pried the trunk open.

"Oof," the person said, before they went tumbling onto the street. I caught her just in time. And then I recognized the face of my cousin.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen!" I burst angrily. She grinned sheepishly, steadying herself. "What the hell were you doing in the trunk?"

"I wanted to go the ball too!" she cried, crossing her arms over her chest. I was amazed she had even fit in the small trunk. Her dress was strapless and yellow and had a big puffy skirt, with ruffles, like the one Belle wore in Beauty and the Beast. Her bronze hair- the same shade as mine- was curled and pulled back into a low ponytail, draped over her shoulder. She pulled up her dress and patted her hair back into place. "But Mom wouldn't let me. So I snuck into the trunk before you guys came."

"Damn Nessie," Emmett said, sounding impressed and chuckling.

"It's Ren," she pouted.

"Nessie that was so unsafe. You could've fallen out, you could've been hurt or killed. You're the only one of us with parents that actually care. Can you imagine how Aunt Esme or Uncle Carlisle would react if they knew this?" I knew I was acting like a protective big brother, but that's what I felt like to her. Renesmee was my mother's sister's only child. My only cousin. Her parents actually spent time with her, and loved and cared for her- unlike most parents in high class Washington. And she was, of course, a total rebel.

"I know, but I really wanted to go! It's not fair that you guys get to go and I don't," she said, her lower lip jutting out into a pout. I couldn't resist.

"But we're eighteen. You're only sixteen."

"I don't car." She crossed her arms over her chest ad stomped her foot angrily. Emmett chuckled. I sighed.

"Fine," I growled. "You can come with us. just sit in the backseat like a normal person and keep out of trouble." She squealed and jumped on me, hugging me tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best cousin ever! I swear, you won't be sorry!" She let out a woo of joy and slid into the backseat, bouncing excitedly the whole way. When we arrived at the party, it was already packed, with beautifully dressed women and suit-clad men. Everyone was smiling and laughing and dancing, the party seemed a huge success. People were eating the food, and drinking the champagne. I had a sample of each and they were certainly good. I wasn't sure how my parents could outdo this.

"Whoa. I am so glad I hid in the trunk for this," Renesmee said eagerly. "It's so fabulous. Everyone looks like models." And she was right. Everyone really did. There was a pretty blond bombshell in red that I noticed Emmett checking out. A short, pixie like girl that Jasper was practically drooling over. Everyone here was…perfect.

"Hey there." I turned to see the pixie girl standing in front of me. "My name's Alice. And you're crashing this party." It was a statement. Renesmee gasped and I panicked.

"I…um, I was just, uh-" She cut me off with a musical laugh.

"It's okay, I don't care. It happens at every party right? And it's not my party. So whatever. Just don't do anything stupid. But that's not why I'm here." She turned to Emmett. "The blond you're checking out. Her name's Rosalie Hale. Go talk to her." Emmett looked at her in shock.

"Oh, I wasn't checking her out," he said feebly.

"Sure you weren't. Just like Blondie over here wasn't checking me out." She winked at Jasper, who blushed red. "I don't mind," she added softly, turning to Jasper. Jasper grinned slowly.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked. Alice nodded, smiling politely. She took Jasper's hand and skipped to the center of the dance floor. Jasper began twirling her around slowly, never taking his eyes off of hers. I looked away, feeling like I was intruding.

"I'll be right back," Renesmee said dreamily, her eyes locked on someone or something I couldn't see. I sighed and took a seat at the nearest table, grabbing a champagne glass. I downed most of it in a sip, completely bored and feeling deserted by my friends. Emmett had gone off to look for the blond, after she had given him a shy smile. Jasper was with Alice and Renesmee had gone off to who knows where. I was alone here. Lonely.

And then I saw her.

She was dancing lithely with a tall, Native American man, her long, brown curls cascading down her back. Her skin was pale as porcelain, and looked just as soft. Her eyes were deep pools of chocolate brown, even though she was watching her feet religiously. She had a small smile on her face, and it was beautiful. It seemed to make her whole face light up. She was so…beautiful. It took my breath away.

But she was dancing with the russet-skinned man. He was looking at her adoringly, so they must be together. He had a smile that pulled his lips back over his teeth. He was tall and looked strong, and if this angel was dancing with him, then they're probably together. So did that mean she was off limits? The song ended, and they pulled apart, the two of them clapping together.

And then Renesmee walked over to them. She seemed drawn to this russet-skinned man for some reason. The brunette angel turned in surprise to Renesmee, but there was no jealousy in her gaze. And the russet-skinned man was looking at her like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. Renesmee said something softly and the Native American beamed, while the brunette just looked confused. And then the russet-skinned man pulled Renesmee, my little Nessie, into his arms and they began to dance.

I should have been angry that my little cousin, almost sister, was dancing with this man, who looked so much older than her. And they were watching each other with such intensity. But instead I felt joy- elation even. Because that meant the brunette angel was free, at least from this man. I followed her with my eyes as she strolled out of the room, through a door, probably leading to a balcony.

I didn't really think about what I was doing as I stood. I just knew I needed to get to this woman, to this angel, and talk to her, hold her, touch her, kiss her, anything. I fought my way through the crowd, unable to fight the pull I had towards this beautiful girl.

_A/N: Okay so can anyone guess the song yet? And I love Renesmee in this, she's like the little kid trying to be older. And Jake is only 17 by the way, so he's only a year older then her. Next chapter will be back to BPOV. REVIEW!!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Congratulations to Girlytown, OCD-ObsessiveCullenDisorder, DazzleMeEdward11, Crazy Twilight Lover, patd122, sadistic pale one, BalletDiva and 21Skadoosh, all of whom guessed the song after the last chapter. Great job everyone, especially 21Skadoosh because she helped point out someone who plagerized my story and even helped me get them to take it down, because she's just awesome. Thanks! Oh! And for all of my fellow Americans, hooray Obama!  
**

BPOV

I kept my eyes glued to the couple outside. I was still on the balcony, my arms outstretched, leaning down to creep on the couple below me. From what I could see, it looked like a blonde and a very muscular man, but it was too dark to see their faces. They were making out intensely in the bushes, from what I could see. And they both seemed pretty into it. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around, grateful for the distraction from the…eager couple.

"Hello." I held back a gasp when I saw who was standing in front of me, his body only inches from mine. His hair was bronze and messy, his eyes a sparkling, candy apple green. He had a crooked smile on his face, revealing perfect white teeth. His skin was pale, but darker than mine, and looked smooth to the touch. He was so close to me, if I wanted to, I could have stood on my tippy toes and kissed him, right there. And boy did I want to.

"Hi," I breathed in response, after gaping at him for what had to be a full minute. His arms reached out to behind me, his hands resting on the balcony, so I was trapped in his arms. I didn't mind one bit.

"I'm Edward," he said softly.

"Bella." One-word answers were all I was capable of with his warm breath blowing on my face.

"I saw you when you were dancing," Edward confessed softly. I was entranced in the way his soft lips moved as he spoke. "And I followed you out here. I had to. You were so beautiful…it was like being in a trance." His eyes met mine, trying to see my reaction to his words. I was thrilled. I didn't find him following me creepy at all. Honestly, I'm the one who creeps on couples making out outside of parties. He just followed someone he thought was…wait did he say beautiful?

"I don't mind," I whispered after a moment. His grin widened and he seemed so excited, so elated at my answer. His breath fanned across my face as he breathed heavily and the smell sucked me in. I leaned closer to him, my lips barely an inch from his. His eyes were as wide open as mine, but they flickered to my lips.

"Can I kiss you?" he murmured.

"Yes," I said breathlessly, and with that, his lips were on mine.

I don't really know what was going through my head. Here was a guy I'd known all of two minutes, and all I knew about him was his name- and that fact that he's deliciously good looking. And I'm letting him kiss me. But something about him felt…right. Natural. He was beautiful, and polite. I mean, at least he asked before planting one on me.

And his lips felt so good. They were soft and smooth and not chapped at all. And they felt really soft against mine, like they were meant to be there. I didn't mind one bit. And there was no tongue or anything. It was just our lips, lightly touching, sending tingles all the way down my body.

He pulled away after a moment, his breathing heavy, and I was sure mine sounded the same way. He had a broad grin on his face, and a goofy smile spread across my lips-, which were still tingling with pleasure.

"Sorry about that," he said apologetically. "But I couldn't help it. I had to kiss you."

I repeated my words from earlier. "I don't mind." He grinned crookedly. He removed his arms from either side of me and leaned against the railing, so just our arms were brushing, and we were both watching the party progress in front of us. There were couples dancing everywhere, but no one looked twice at us. Even if they did, they probably couldn't see much, since we were so immersed in darkness.

"How come I don't know you?" I asked after a moment. After all, I was sure I would remember an Adonis like him. He shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't come around here too often," he mumbled. I let it drop. I didn't want him to leave, even if it was just to go back inside. I wanted him with me. I felt some strange, foreign force, pulling me towards him.

"So Edward, all I know about you is your name and your kissing status. Care to tell me more?" I asked, half teasing. He chuckled.

"Well, I play the piano. I'm eighteen. I'm an only child. And I'm here with my two best friends and my cousin," he said, seeming modest and shy. It made me smile. "What about you? All I know is your name is Bella and you're possibly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. Anything else?"

"I think that about covers it," I joked. He laughed. "But seriously? You must not have seen many women if you think _I'm_ that beautiful."

"You are," he said seriously. His words started tumbling out of his mouth as he rushed to say his thoughts. "I've seen hundreds of other women and I've never felt anything near the attraction I feel for you. It's so strange. Normally, I see a pretty girl and that's about it. But with you, I knew I had to talk to you, be with you if I could. So I came after you, praying desperately for a chance with you… even though I knew nothing about you." He shook his head in disbelief and I couldn't help agreeing. It all sounded pretty crazy to me.

"You're the first boy I've kissed," I admitted after a second. He seemed stunned by this revelation. "I was never really into the whole relationship thing, and guys rarely looked twice at me." I shrugged. It was the truth.

"Well then boys at your school must be blind, deaf and dumb, if they didn't see your beauty," he said. Normally, this would sound cheesy, but I could hear his sincerity, and it was sweet, and very flattering. My cheeks flushed a brilliant red. "And you never answered my question. What else is there to know about you?"

"Well…I'm eighteen too. I'm clumsy. I don't play any sports due to that fact. I love reading. And I'm an only child too," I said, unsure what would be important to him. He seemed fascinated in everything I told him, even though it was all so plain, so uninteresting.

"Nice shoes," he noted and I glanced down, realizing my hot pink flip-flops were peeking out from under my dress. I shifted my dress so they were covered and blushed. He chuckled.

"Well heels can get so uncomfortable," I complained.

"I think it's cute," he decided and I gave him a playful half smile.

"Oh really?"

"Really."

Edward and I talked for hours. Eventually we moved so that we were sitting, sort of hidden from the inside of the room. I could see a few people starting to leave, and I knew it had to be around midnight, if not later. I could still see Jacob dancing with that Ren girl, and Alice and Rosalie were nowhere to be found. But I hardly ever looked anywhere but Edward.

I found out everything about him, from his first kiss, a girl named Tanya when he was ten, to his worst fear of failure. I told him everything from my biggest insecurity, my clumsiness, to my happiest memory, which was back when I was little and my parents actually cared. He said his parents were pretty much the same. When it got chilly, he gave me his jacket so I wouldn't be cold. And he held my hand pretty much the whole time.

Everything with Edward was so natural and easy. Our conversation flowed without any awkward pauses. And even if we were immersed in silence, it was comfortable. He would throw random questions at me and I would answer, tossing more back at him. It seemed like he was trying to memorize every detail about me. He never took his eyes off my face, watching my eyes as I spoke, watching my lips form the words. I was sure I was doing the same thing. Everything about him, about our time together, about us, was amazing, perfect.

That is, until Charlie came out and found us together.

"Bella? Bella are you out here?" I was surprised to hear a voice other than Edward's. My father's voice sounded hoarse and cold in comparison to Edward's silky smooth tone. I looked up, shocked. The party seemed to have emptied out. I could only see Alice and Rosalie, along with a few other stragglers. Maybe it was later than I thought.

"Yeah Dad I'm out here." Out of both of my parent's I liked my dad the best. At least he cared- most of the time. He would help me when I'm sick and he would actually show up at parent meetings every once and a while. I saw Charlie round the corner and I felt Edward freeze. He tried to withdraw his hand, but I held it firmly, giving him a stern look. I wanted my father to see us- so he would know that we were…sort of together.

Charlie came strolling around the corner, squinting into the darkness that engulfed Edward and I. Once his eyes focused, they worked around the scene. He saw Edward's jacket around my shoulders and he saw his hand in mine. Then he looked up at Edward's face, trying to figure out who he was. And then he turned red…purple…and red again.

"Let go of my daughter!" he roared suddenly. I was outraged. Sure, every father was going to be a little angry seeing his daughter with a boy but this was taking it to the extreme.

"Dad!" I shrieked back, completely indignant.

"Bella you let go of him! You know us Swan's don't associate with those sorts of people," Charlie said, sneering at Edward. My jaw dropped.

"Dad, stop it right now!" I snapped. But Edward's voice, soft and panicked, came from next to me.

"You're Bella _Swan_?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Yes…"

"I'm Edward…_Masen_." And then it hit me.

He was a Masen and I was a Swan. Our families hate each other. There was no way… no way we could ever be together. Our situation was like Romeo and Juliet, the Capulet's and the Montague's… forbidden love. And sure, I had only known him a short amount of time, but I knew that I was falling in love with Edward. He was the perfect man and I wasn't about to let him go, just because of our families. That would be insanity, complete and utter insanity.

"I don't care," I whispered to him furiously.

"Let go of her now," Charlie growled. Charlie's voice was so threatening that my hand went weak, Edward withdrew his hand from mine. "Bella give him his jacket." I slid it off my shoulders obediently, more afraid of my father then I had ever been. I could feel tears stinging my eyes.

"Dad, please," I whispered, my voice cracking. Charlie's eyes softened for a brief second, before hardening back up.

"You're coming with me Bella," he said harshly, grabbing my hand. "And you need to leave," he added to Edward. Edward threw me a loaded look that I couldn't decipher through my tears. He strode past my father and I watched him as he made his way through the empty ballroom and disappeared. My lower lip trembled as I watched the boy I might just love walk away, never knowing when- or if- I would ever see him again. I wrenched my hand out of Charlie's and glared at you.

"How could you?" I spat. "Just because you don't like his parents doesn't mean I can't like him."

"As long as you live under my roof, that boy will be nowhere near you. No daughter of mine will be dating the likes of a _Masen_." He said the word like swearing.

"You can't stop me," I whispered.

"Yes I can. Even if I have to put you under house arrest, I can promise you that you won't be seeing any more of him," Charlie whispered back, his tone just as deadly. "Now come on. We're going home." I followed behind my father, feeling miserable. I was fighting sobs the entire car ride home. Renee was chattering on about what a success the party had been, how everyone had loved it. She hardly seemed to catch on to my obvious sadness.

When we got home, I stormed upstairs instantly, running into the bathroom. I ran a hot bubble bath for myself and ripped off my bulky dress and sank into it. The water was hot and comforting, the bubbles smelled like vanilla. I sighed, trying to wash away my tears, my sadness. But I couldn't get the beautiful Edward Masen out of my head. He was like an addiction I didn't want to quit.

But our situation was impossible. It was like Romeo and Juliet. And look what happened to them. Dead. How could this work? Our families were bitter rivals; they would never allow us to be together, love and our feelings aside. And I knew even our love was like Romeo and Juliet. Instantaneous. Across-a-crowded-room. Eyes only for each other. It was romantic and passionate, at least for me, and I was sure he felt the same way.

I emerged from the bathtub almost an hour later, shriveled like a prune. I pulled on a pair of silk boxers and a cami, tossing my hair into a messy, wet bun. I sank onto my bed, thinking about forbidden love, Romeo and Juliet and Edward Masen.

_A/N: Okay, I like the beginning of this chapter, but not the ending as much. And I know Charlie seems like a jerk right now, but he's still going to be the loveable, oblivious Charlie we know and love (eventually) Thanks to my beta Independant Mind (Catt) REVIEW!!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Congrats to I'myoursweetestgoodbye, musiclikelove and IanO'.luver who all correctly guessed the song last chapter! And you sent me a guess, and it was wrong, but you don't have PM on your account so I couldn't tell you in a message. And also, I'm updating while I'm sick right now so you're all welcome. I've got a fever, headache, sore throat, basically the works, and every time I even look at the computer my head like throbs but I wanted to give y'all an update. So remember to review!  
**

BPOV

_"I love you Bella," Edward whispered, his voice soft and gentle. We were out on the balcony at the ballroom, just the two of us. People were moving around inside, dancing, laughing, talking, but it seemed like it was only us, in our own little world. No Charlie, no Renee, no rivalry. Just us._

_"I love you too," I breathed, and truer words had never been spoken. I loved him with all of my heart. It was impossible not to love him._

_Edward opened his mouth to speak and I listened intently to hear his next words. But as he moved to speak there was a sudden _rap!_ Edward's eyes widened and he moved a hand to his throat. He tried to speak again, but another _rap!_ interrupted him. It seemed to be coming from his own mouth._

_"Edward?" I said in confusion and panic and moved my hand to his cheek. He clutched my hand in his and stared up at me and tried to speak but all that came out were three more _rap!_'s._

I shot up, my eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness of my room. The balcony of my dream faded away and I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my pounding heart. It had all seemed so real…

_Rap!_

Well, apparently part of it was real. Where was that odd noise coming from?

I stood up and wandered around my room as another loud _rap!_ sounded. I followed the sound until I came to my window, just as a tiny stone pebble bounced off of it and clattered to the grass. Someone was throwing pebbles at my window. How romantic.

I shoved my white-framed window open and was instantly pegged on the forehead with another pebble. It bounced off of my forehead and landed on the carpet with a light thud.

"Ow!" I squealed, rubbing the spot. Only me.

"Bella? Did I hit you? I'm sorry!" It couldn't be, I thought, the tiny pain in my forehead already forgotten. Could it?

"Edward? Is that you?" I whisper-shouted, leaning halfway out of the window, trying to spot him in the darkness.

"Yes! Now be careful, don't fall out!" he said, panic obvious in his voice, even from so far away. I leaned back, following his instructions, surprised at how well he knew me.

"How'd you find out where I live?" I asked curiously, a little giddy. I mean, he had thrown pebbles at my window in the dead of night. It was like something out of a cheesy romantic comedy.

"I asked around. Can you come down?" His voice was slightly urgent and pleading. I glanced over my shoulder, biting my lip. My parents would never notice I was gone. And if I snuck out of the back staircase, I wouldn't have to go by my parent's room. It all worked out. I turned back to the window and leaned halfway out again.

"Yeah. Meet me in the garden in five minutes. Okay?"

"Okay. See you then."

"Bye." He tip-toed away, holding a flashlight and I pulled out of my window, sliding it shut. I grabbed a house key off of my dresser and slid it in my bra for safekeeping. Then I slid out of my room, down the back staircase and out the back door.

It was deathly silent outside, but I knew Edward was waiting for me close by. A warm breeze blew by me in the cold night and I shivered. I had forgotten in my haste that I was only in boxers and a cami.

I had picked the garden to meet Edward for a few reasons. First off, it was a good distance away from the house, and I knew it would be too dark to see it clearly from the house. Second off, none of my parents windows faced the garden, so even if they did decide to look out of their window at this hour, they wouldn't be able to see us. And lastly, there was a small, brown rocking bench that I loved to sit in and gaze up at the stars. I knew Edward would like it too.

I tip-toed across the yard, unable to keep the tingles of fear from creeping up my body. I knew Edward was close by, but I couldn't see him and I was alone in the dark. It was pretty freaky.

"Edward?" I whispered as I reached the garden. I didn't have a light with me, and I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. "Edward?"

"Bella?" A wave of relief rushed through me as I heard his voice. There was some fumbling, and then his flashlight came on, the sudden light blinding in the darkness. I blinked, but was able to make him out in the darkness, sitting on my favorite bench. I smiled and sank down next to him. His fingers instantly reached for mine, intertwining them.

"Sorry I didn't have the light on. I was looking up at the stars," he whispered, glancing upwards. I followed suit, noticing the way the starts shined like at no other time. There was no light or clouds polluting the sky, just a smattering of stars. I kept my head tilted upwards, as did Edward.

"That's what I love to do when I come out here," I told him, rubbing my thumb along the back of his hand. "It's so beautiful when you can actually see it."

"This whole thing is crazy," Edward whispered. It sounded like he was talking to himself more than me. "I feel like I've know you my whole life. And of all of the horrible things that could happen, our parents despise each other. How can this ever work?" I tore my gaze away from the sky and met his intense eyes.

"I don't know," I replied, a little nervous. What if he ended us, when we had only just begun? I don't know if I could take it. "But I don't care. I…care about you so much already. I don't care if our parents hate each other and I don't care if our friends hate each other. I care about _you_. Only you."

He was silent for so long, I was sure I had scared him off. His face remained carefully blank, unreadable. And then he tossed his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap, kissing me fiercely. I groaned at the sudden contact and placed my hands on either side of his face, pulling him in closer. I let my tongue glide along his lower lip and his mouth opened, our tongues molding together. His hands were on my face as well, memorizing every inch of my face.

When I pulled away, I was gasping for air, my face flushed, my heart pounding. I had goose bumps all over my skin, but not from the cold. In fact, I had all but forgotten the chilly night air while kissing Edward. He chuckled slightly at my expression before wrapping his arms around my waist, still holding me on his lap.

"Sorry about that," he murmured. "But hearing you say that was…such a relief! I've never felt so strongly about anyone, let alone in such a short time. I was worried you didn't feel the same way." I could've laughed with relief—he had thought I didn't care about him? A ludicrous thought.

"Of course I do. How could I not? You're so wonderful—everything I could've dreamed of, all wrapped up in one gorgeous package," I said, louder then I meant to.

"There's only one problem," Edward sighed. I pressed my fingers to his lips.

"Don't think about that. Don't talk about it. It doesn't matter to me. Sure, we'll have to keep things sort of secret, but I don't care. I want to be with you and I'll do whatever it takes," I vowed, knowing it was the truth. I couldn't leave him, even if I wanted to. Edward pressed a small kiss to my fingers before answering.

"You're willing? You're willing to sneak around and lie to your family and friends, just for us? Just so we can be together?" he asked, his voice low and worrying.

"I am if you are." My voice was fierce and passionate. I was serious and I wanted him to know that.

"I am. I'm willing to fight for us. For us to be together. I know that what we have is special…it's not just lust or a crush. It's more. It's…right. And I'm not going to let that go without a fight," Edward promised, his arms tightening around my waist. I placed one hand on his cheek, one finger rubbing along his cheekbone lightly.

"So what does this make us?" I mused gently.

"Well, I'm hoping this makes you my girlfriend," he answered, a crooked grin spreading along his face. I grinned easily in response.

"Is that your way of asking me out?"

"Is that your way of saying yes?"

"Yes," I mumbled, embarrassed even though I had said so much earlier.

"Then yes," he replied, chuckling lightly. He reached up and took my hand from his face, wrapping my arms around his neck before leaning to kiss me again. I instantly melted into his arms, forming my body around his, leaving no space in between us. I sighed contently into the kiss.

We kissed blissfully for a few minutes before I heard a light flick on and a door open.

"Shit!" I squeaked almost silently. I grabbed Edward and yanked him off of the bench, both of us ducking under it, lying flat on our stomachs, hiding in the grass.

"Damn dog," I could hear Charlie muttering. The back door was the open door and my Parson Russell Terrier (like a Jack Russell Terrier, only cuter) Gracie came running out. Gracie was only three years old and was such a spaz. She was only about twelve pounds and tiny, all white with tan ears and a tan spot over her right eye. She was extremely feisty and must have had to go out, which Charlie didn't seem to be pleased about.

I held my breath as I saw Gracie prance into the yard, sniffing around. I let out a loud breath when Charlie stepped outside, gazing around to try and spot Gracie in the darkness. I prayed he didn't turn the light on and spot us. Suddenly, I saw Gracie stop, her ears pricking up. She let out one, high-pitched bark.

"Shush!" Charlie whispered from the door, rubbing his eyes. Gracie let out a little whimper, but obeyed, letting her nose trail to the ground. She sniffed around uninterestedly until she reached a spot just under my window. She froze. After a moment of quiet sniffing, she let out another bark.

"Gracie! Shut up!" Charlie grumbled sleepily. Gracie whimpered again, letting out a tiny growl. She kept her nose pressed to the ground and started following whatever scent she smelled. Right towards us.

And then I realized that she must have caught Edward's scent. And she was trying to let Charlie know someone strange had been in our yard, someone she didn't recognize. What a smart dog! But I couldn't feel too much pride right now, because I was sure if she found Edward, she'd start going nuts, barking and running and jumping. Charlie would be sure to come out.

I waited with wide eyes as Gracie continued following his scent into the garden. She trotted all the way into the garden, where she usually knew not to go. She sniffed her way right into Edward's face. I saw her open her mouth to let out a bark, Edward whispering no gently at her. I had to do something.

"Gracie," I whispered gently, in a cooing voice. Her ears perked up and she bolted over to me, her tail wagging quickly as she tried to lick my face. I exhaled in relief. ""Hey baby. How's my little princess?" I continued cooing. I held my fingers out and she hovered over me, letting my scratch her belly.

"Any day Bella," Edward whispered.

"Oh right. Go back inside Gracie-poo. Go see Grandpa. Go on baby." Gracie tilted her head and gave me a lick on the nose and I giggled.

"Come on Gracie!" Charlie half shouted from the door. Gracie half turned towards him before letting out a slight whimper and turning back to me.

"Go on baby girl. Go on!" I encouraged. Gracie's head turned to Charlie, then back to me, then to Charlie. "Go ahead." She wagged her tail once before turning and sprinting over to the open door.

"Finally," Charlie muttered, closing the door behind her and turning off the lights.

"Holy tits," I whispered in relief, knowing how close we had just come to being caught.

"Tits?" Edward turned to me questioningly.

"It's like shit, but not a swear," I responded in a breathless whisper. Edward just shook his head, but didn't question further.

"I should probably go. That was way too close," Edward said, glancing up at the door again.

"I don't want you to leave," I mumbled pathetically.

"I don't want to leave you," he confessed. He wrapped one arm around me, pulling me closer to him. He pressed his lips to mine and somehow I ended up on top of him, his back on the ground. After a minute, he pulled away, trying to catch his breath.

"When can I see you again?" he asked breathlessly.

"My friend Alice Brandon is having a party tomorrow. It's around seven. Come at like nine and we can go somewhere to be alone. I'm sure she wouldn't even notice if I left." I gave him Alice's address.

"I'll be there," he promised. "And Alice…short black hair? White and black dress?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah," I answered, surprise coloring my tone. "Why?"

"She came up to me and my friends Jasper and Emmett. Jasper was ogling her and apparently she didn't mind. They were together all night," Edward answered. "Small world." I nodded in agreement.

"So that blond guy was your friend huh? Well that sucks for Alice; she's going to have to go through everything we do."

"I doubt it," Edward disagreed lightly. "Jasper's parents aren't really involved in this rivalry. They always felt guilty about throwing a party on the same night as the Hale's—they're only in this 'feud' because they don't get invited to any of your parties. But they don't hate any of you."

"Well that's good for her then," I said, feeling jealous. Of course Alice ends up with the one guy she'll actually be allowed to see. Edward chuckled.

"I'm jealous too, don't feel bad," he teased, pressing another gentle kiss to my lips. "But I really have to go. I have to drive home and I don't want to fall asleep behind the wheel."

"If you have to," I pouted. He chuckled again and kissed me, gently biting on my puffed out bottom lip. I sighed at the sensation.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I promise." He pressed one last kiss to my forehead before standing up, staying crouched low, just in case. He helped me to my feet and the two of us crept to the side of my house so I could go back on the back staircase and sneak back upstairs. My eyelids began to droop as I realized how tired I was.

"Goodbye," I whispered, standing one step up so I was level with his face.

"Goodbye," he answered, kissing me, his arms wrapping around my waist, pulling me closer. "See you tomorrow," he murmured, before dashing out into the pitch darkness. I kept my eyes on the spot he left until I heard a car engine rev from what seemed like a few houses down. Headlights swung by our house and I knew he was gone.

I yawned, going back upstairs, wishing I had thought to ask for his number. Both of my parents were sleeping soundly in their room, and Gracie was asleep near the back door, probably waiting for me. Smart dog. I leaned down and picked her up, cradling her in my arms.

"I love you," I whispered to her, wishing I had been brave enough to say the words to Edward. "I love you, I love you, I love you." I pressed a kiss to her furry head, smiling and giggling, before taking her upstairs to sleep in my bed for the night.

_A/N: About the oh tits thing—well it's something I say constantly, and I knew I'd slip it in eventually, by accident or on purpose, so I thought to add an explanation so you guys wouldn't think I was too weird haha. REVIEW!!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Congratulations to IsabellaLovesEdward who was the only person to correctly guess the song last chapter. Good for you girl! This chapter's especially long, so I hope you guys like it. And please, please check out the dresses on my profile because they're kind of hard to describe, especially Bella's.  
**

BPOV

"Bella! Why the heck are you still in bed?" Alice's high pitched shriek cut right into my dreams—my wonderful, wonderful dreams about Edward.

"Wake up time Bells." I felt delicate hands on my shoulder, shaking lightly. And then my blankets were yanked off of me.

"Hey!" I growled in protest, curling into a ball to try and keep warm.

"You didn't need to freeze the girl Alice," Rosalie said, shaking her head.

"Bella. It's almost three in the afternoon. My party starts in four hours and we need to get ready!" This woke me up. I sat up, rubbing my eyes groggily.

"Oh tits! It's three? In the _afternoon_?" I asked dumbly, still a little fogged up by sleep.

"Yes Bella," Alice sighed. "What were you doing last night that you were so tired?"

"Just, you know, the ball and stuff," I mumbled, my cheeks flaming, a telltale sign of my lie. "But I still can't believe it's this late all ready. I'll just hop in the shower and we can get ready."

"Be quick Bells, I have to be home by six thirty just in case anyone shows up early," Alice said. "Scoot!" I hopped out of bed and half ran towards the shower, still groggy. I spent a good amount of time in the shower, washing my hair well and soaping off my body. The hot water helped relax me, and I knew I'd need to be relaxed for a party with Alice, even if I was planning on skipping out after an hour.

My stomach knotted with butterflies and excitement as I thought of sneaking off with Edward again. Although this kind of relationship was tiring, it was certainly exhilarating and exciting. And as long as I was with Edward, it was perfect.

I came out of the shower nearly an hour later. Alice was waiting by the door, looking pissed.

"Sit!" she commanded and I listened obediently. "I'll blow dry your hair and I'm going to let it do its natural waves, since I don't have time for anything more fancy." To be honest, I didn't really mind Alice's makeover today. I wanted to look good for Edward.

"Oh, Alice, give her a break," Rose sighed. She was already dressed in her outfit—and it was super sexy. Alice was going for a club theme, lots of sweaty bodies, dirty dancing and sexy outfits. Rosalie was wearing a red and black dress—if you can call it that. It was a halter, and the bra part was black, but the middle part was red. It only connected at the very center of her bra, leaving her entire back exposed, until the fabric met up again at the black bottom of her skirt, which was skin tight just under her butt, holding it in place. **(Picture on profile)**

"Holy tits Rose," I said, my eyes going wide. "You look hot!" Rosalie smiled and did a little spin—her long, blond hair flew in a circle around her head before landing neatly back on her shoulders.

"Thanks! You don't think it's too much?" She turned to examine her butt, pulling the dress down a bit without revealing more cleavage.

"No way. It's perfect for you. No one else could pull it off," I assured her.

"And since your hair is so long it covers half of what is showing on your back, so that's good too," Alice added. Rosalie smiled happily, sitting down in front of my mirror to apply her make-up. Alice turned on the blow dryer and our conversations were cut short as she combed through my hair, drying it piece by piece. I didn't complain once, knowing it was all for Edward's benefit—not that Alice knew that.

"Done," Alice announced, nearly a half an hour later. I peeked in the mirror and saw that my hair was falling in gentle waves to just past my shoulders. It framed my face nicely, giving it more of a heart shape. I beamed.

"I love it," I gushed instantly. "Now let's see my dress." Alice reached into her bag and pulled out a tiny dress—something I would normally never wear. But its classy sexiness was just what I needed for tonight.

"Now Bella," Alice said cautiously. "I know it's kind of small, but I swear, it doesn't look bad at all—" I cut her off quickly.

"I love it Alice, don't worry," I assured her instantly, truthfully. "It's perfect." Rosalie and Alice shared a loaded glance.

"Okay, Bells, spill," Rosalie demanded. She sank onto my bed, crossing her legs, but pulling a pillow onto her lap so I didn't get a crotch shot. Alice joined her.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously. Oh God they're on to me! I could feel a blush creeping up my neck, onto my cheeks.

"First, we come to your house at three in the afternoon and you're still sleeping," Rosalie said, holding up one finger. "When normally you get up around nine, ten at the latest."

"Secondly," Alice continued, holding up two fingers. "You don't say one word the entire time I'm doing your hair, when normally you'd be whining you ass off about how it was stupid and unnecessary for me to do your hair so perfectly when you'd just mess it up in a few hours."

"And lastly," Rose finished. "And mostly, we show you a sexy dress—that you normally wouldn't even try on, you'd just shove it in your closet and demand we pick something else—and, not only do you not hate it, you love it."

"In conclusion," Alice said. "Something is up. So spill." I bit my lip. My best friends knew me well—too well. They could see right through me.

"You're blushing!" Rosalie squealed.

"And biting your lip! Who is he?" Alice added. I sighed. Might as well tell them everything.

"His name is Edward," I mumbled and Alice and Rosalie both let out excited squeals, watching me with goo-goo eyes, like they would watch a romantic comedy. "I met him at the ball last night. He just came outside after me and asked if he could kiss me. And I let him." Both girls awed, fanning their faces with their hands, like it was just too sweet.

"We were talking for hours out on the balcony. But my dad came out and flipped out, because apparently he was Edward _Masen._" Rosalie and Alice both gasped in tandem.

"Oh my God, you guys are like enemies," Alice gasped, a hand over her heart, like it was just too tragic. "What happened next?" Both she and Rosalie were on the edge of the bed, rapt with attention.

"Well he ran out and Charlie took me home, talking about how he'd never let me near a Masen. So I got home and everything and then went to bed. But then I woke up to this strange noise and I realized he was throwing pebbles at my window." I smiled at this part, remembering how I had gotten hit in the forehead.

"Which explains the bruise," Rosalie giggled. "But that's totally sweet. So did you go meet him?"

"Yeah. I snuck downstairs and we went to the garden and talked and kissed. But Charlie came outside and we thought we were caught, but he just let the dog out." Both girls had gasped in a breath when I said Charlie came out, and sighed in relief when I finished my sentence. It was actually pretty funny.

"So then he had to go, and I told him to meet me at Alice's party at eight so we could spend time together. And he asked me to be his girlfriend," I finished. I couldn't help but squeal along with Alice and Rosalie. Both girls tossed their arms around me, hugging me tightly.

"Oh man that is so freaking cute!" Alice gushed. "It's like Romeo and Juliet. Jack and Rose. Forbidden, but passionate."

"And someone dies at the end," Rose added teasingly.

"I certainly hope not," I grumbled.

"So you really like him?" Alice pressed.

"Yes."

"How much?"

"I think…I might love him." Both girls squealed again. "And I wanted to look extra special for him, I guess. Extra sexy."

"Aww," Rosalie and Alice both cooed.

"But enough about me. Tell me about Jasper, Alice," I asked, raising my eyebrows knowingly. Alice beamed.

"Oh I love him. We're going to get married one day. I can just feel it," she sighed. "He's coming tonight too."

"So is Emmett," Rosalie added.

"Emmett who?"

"He's this totally hot, huge, muscular guy I hooked up with at the ball last night. He was so adorable and funny and sweet, but tough." She sighed wistfully. "He's perfection personified." Actually, I was pretty sure that would be Edward. But I wasn't about to rain on Rosalie's parade.

"So go try on that dress Bells. We have to leave soon," Alice instructed. I grabbed the teal dress she had brought me and scurried into the bathroom. I stripped out of my clothes and pulled it on. And it was a lot sexier than I was used too.

The dress was a tube top, in a pretty teal color that was tight all the way down my body, ending a little above mid thigh. It was sort of wrinkled all the way down, but it was supposed to be like that. There was a sort of sash that started at the chest and ended at the side, on the bottom. My chest was practically popping out, and it was super tight, but it somehow managed to look classy, and it fit me well. **(Picture on profile. And look at it because it's hard to describe)**

"Whoa," Alice and Rosalie exclaimed in unison.

"You should do sexy more often Bella. It suits you," Rosalie decided. "And that dress is gorgeous. I may need to borrow that sometime." I smiled. I felt sexy too. I could only hope Edward would like it.

"Alice, you look awesome too." Alice had gotten dressed while I was in the bathroom. Her dress had spaghetti straps and was short and sparkly. It was tight at the chest, and loose until the very end, where it clutched her upper thighs, the loose part hanging over the edge a bit. Hers was the least revealing out of the three of us. **(Picture on profile)**

"Ready to go?" I asked. Both girls nodded and the three of us walked slowly outside and into Alice's Porsche to drive back to her house. Alice blasted the radio on the way home, and the three of us sang along, laughing the whole time. All of us were feeling the exhilarating lightness of new love, first love. It was amazing.

We pulled up to Alice's house at around six thirty, right on time. Guests would be arriving in about half an hour, and teenagers only, no adults allowed. Alice's parents were going out, but they let her have the party. They basically didn't care what she did, as long as she didn't shame their family in any way. That's probably one of the reasons they didn't care if she dated Jasper or not.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I entered the Brandon's posh penthouse apartment.

Alice had transformed the entire place into a nightclub. Flashing lights, open bar, DJ booth, pounding bass speakers. The room smelled delicious, the music was infectious, the light was sexy and romantic. It was fabulous. Everything was amazing. Their was a bartender at the ready behind the bar—probably being paid big bucks to serve underage kids—and a DJ setting out CD's for when guests started arriving.

"Holy tits Alice," Rosalie gasped. "This place looks great."

"Thanks. I spent forever setting it all up. Or, well, telling the movers where to set it up. But still. It was a challenge." The there of us laughed, and went to explore. Alice went into the kitchen to grab a snack, Rosalie went up to the DJ to request some songs and I went up to the bartender. My nerves were still fluttering in my stomach at the thought of seeing Edward.

"Strawberry daiquiri?" I asked the bartender. He nodded, grabbing a few bottles from behind me. I sighed in relief when he placed it in front of me and took a quick sip, savoring the burn of the alcohol as it slid down my throat. Rosalie came to join me after a minute, ordering the same thing.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered after a moment. I had to lean close to hear her words. "I really, really like Emmett. But our parents sort of hate each other. I just haven't told my parents anything yet. But…it's not like I can hide him forever."

"I know exactly what you mean," I sighed. "Edward is so amazing. But it all seems so…impossible. Hard. And my parents are the worst of the lot—they really hate the Masen's. And it sucks." I frowned, twirling my straw around in my drink before taking a long sip.

"Alice has it easy," Rose grumbled after a moment. "Her parents don't give a shit what she does. They only have to worry about Jasper's parents, and not for a while. His dad is in the army and moves around a lot—they just leave Jasper here with a sort of nanny, who is basically his mother."

"That's so sad though. That they just leave him here," I said, shaking my head. Our parents all sucked. They either didn't care or were never around. Or pretended to care about you, while they really only cared about your image.

"Yeah well. You can't have everything in life. We have beauty and money, so we have to be deprived of something—and in our case, it's parental love and care." Rosalie took a long sip of her drink, resting her chin on her hand.

"Guys, people are starting to arrive," Alice said, bouncing up behind us. "So I suggest you get rid of those mopey faces and get happy!" I plastered a fake, cheery smile on my face and Alice just shook her head.

"I'll at least settle for less depressed," she said. "Just think about Edward, drink and dance. It's better than any anti-depressants money can buy." She winked, blew us a kiss, and turned to skip off to meet her guests. Everyone showed up in groves, until the place was packed. Rosalie and I had people pressing in on all sides, ordering drinks and trying to flirt. I wasn't so sure about the dress I wore when Mike Newton came up to me and stared directly at my chest for a good five minutes.

"Hey Bella. You look really good," Mike said to my chest.

"Thanks Mike. But you should probably look at my face when you make that assessment," I said, my voice mock polite. Rosalie snorted and Mike's eyes snapped up, a blush rising in his cheeks.

"I uh, wasn't um looking, I just, um, uh," he stuttered, his face turning a deep crimson. "Bye." He ran off with his tail between his legs, trying to hold onto a shred of dignity.

"I hope you won't treat me like that if I say you look completely stunning," a voice purred in my ear. I turned to see Edward, in dress pants and a nice shirt, smiling sexily behind me.

"Edward!" I rejoiced, tossing my arms around his neck and pulling his face down to kiss me. He returned my kiss eagerly. And just like that my sad mood was gone. I couldn't care less about my parents or his. It was just him and I, here, together. And that's all that mattered.

"Apparently not," he murmured as I pulled my lips away, flushing with happiness.

"You're early," I noted with joy. I had been planning at least another half hour of moping around before he got here.

"Well Jasper was invited at seven and he was my ride, so I figured I'd show up early and spend some extra time with you," he answered, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing the top of my head.

"I'm glad," I told him truthfully.

"Me too."

"Hi Bella!" I turned to see Ren, the girl who danced with Jacob yesterday, standing in front of us, her smile beaming. Her hair was in bouncy curls framing her face, falling to just past her chin. She was wearing a short sleeved, scoop neck dress that was super short, with four, thick gold and silver stripes. It was adorable, and complimented her petite frame. **(Picture on profile)**

"Hey Ren," I answered, keeping one arm wrapped around Edward. "Nice to see you again."

"You too. I see you've become quite acquainted with my cousin," she giggled, nudging Edward in the side. He sighed and made a face at her.

"You guys are cousins?" I asked, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise. But then again, it should've been obvious—that shade of bronze hair wasn't common.

"Yup," Ren chirped

"I love your dress," I added as an afterthought. It really was adorable.

"Thanks," she squeaked, sending a scowl at Edward. "Edward here doesn't like it. He thinks it's too short."

"Nonsense," I said, waving it off. "Look at me. Mine's shorter _and_ more low cut."

"But you're not my cousin," Edward added. "And you're not sixteen." I shrugged.

"Leave her be. She looks beautiful." Ren beamed at me.

"Thanks Bella. And no thanks to you Eddie," Ren teased. Edward visibly winced at the nickname.

"No problem Nessie," he retorted. Ren made a face at that name too.

"Nessie? What's that short for?" I asked, confusion on my face. I couldn't figure out how you got Nessie from Ren.

"Renesmee," Ren said, shuddering at the sound of her full name. "So long and awful and weird. That's why I like to be called Ren. But my _dear _cousin here thought of the name Nessie when I was a baby and it stuck. Now I'm trying to _un_stuck it."

"Well I think Renesmee is a pretty name," I disagreed.

"You wouldn't if you had to live with it for sixteen years. No one can pronounce it. No one. I can't tell you how often I've been called Reen-smee." I giggled. It did sound pretty silly when she pronounced it like that.

"But anyways, I'm not here to complain about my name. I'm here to find Jacob. Have you seen him?" she asked, peeking around.

"No, sorry," I said apologetically. Ren sighed.

"It's okay. Well, I'll see you guys around then. Bye cousin Eddie!" she trilled, dancing away.

"She's adorable," I noted once she was out of earshot.

"And totally annoying," Edward said, although I knew he agreed with me, because he smiled lovingly after his cousin. "She's my only cousin though and I love her. The only family that cares, you know?"

Trust me; I know more than you think. "I know." Edward sighed once, shook his head, and turned to me with a smile.

"So. You want to dance? Since I never got that dance at the ball?" he asked, holding a hand out for me. I could see that the dance floor was already packed with people. I glanced over at Rosalie again, but she was gone from her seat. When I looked back on the dance floor, I noticed her with a huge, muscular man, grinding it up. That must be Emmett, I figured.

"I can't really dance," I told him truthfully. I know grinding is easy, but I was just plain bad at it. And it hurt your thighs if you did it for too long.

"Sure you can. It's easy," he said. "Please? For me?" He had an adorable pout on his face. I leaned forward and kissed him.

"Fine. But only because I can't resist that face." He chuckled, and I slid my hand in his. He fought our way through the crowd, pulling us into the middle of the floor, right near Alice and Jasper. The song "Disturbia" was playing loudly, the bass thumping. Edward took the lead, spinning me around so my back was to his front. He pulled me close, so our bodies were pressed tightly together. I bent my knees so I was at a good angle.

_Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum_

_Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum_

Edward placed his hands on my hips and started to sway us back and forth, moving to the rhythm. I didn't want my hands to hang awkwardly at my sides, so I placed my hands on his, moving them so they were more on my stomach than my hips, forcing us closer together. We continued to move to the music, our bodies swaying as one.

_It's a thief in the night to come and grab you_

_It can creep up inside you and consume you_

_A disease of the mind_

_It can control you_

_It's too close for comfort_

_Oh-whoa-oh._

I let go of his hands, moving my hands up towards his chest, sliding them up until they hooked behind his neck. His hands moved to my lower thigh, lingering right where my dress ended. I could feel his breathing getting heavier. I was pretty sure mine was too. I couldn't believe how…exciting, how enticing dancing with Edward was. It was like nothing else.

The song ended too soon it seemed, but I was tired, and my thighs did hurt. That's what sucked about grinding, you sort of had to squat and your thighs did most of the work there. Edward kept his arms around me as he led me off of the dance floor, but I moved mine to cover his, because it was awkward keeping my arms around his neck while we walked.

Edward led us back to the bar, ordering a beer for himself. He looked at me for my order.

"How about some JD?" I asked, sort of in the mood for the heavier stuff. Edward raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything about my drink choice. Edward was able to snag a barstool, and he pulled me onto his lap, his lips on my ear.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance," he murmured. "That was very good in my opinion."

"I guess it came naturally with you. And I kind of copied what I saw other people do," I admitted with a giggle, pleased that he had liked it.

"Well you were very, very good," Edward said, kind of wistfully. Our drinks were placed down in front of us and I drank a lot of mine, quickly. I was really thirsty from dancing.

"Oh look," I said, pointing onto the dance floor. "Ren found Jake." The two of them were dancing, kind of awkwardly since he was so much taller than her. Jacob was looking at her with complete and utter adoration. It was sweet. Edward just grumbled incoherently.

"You don't like it?" I asked, pressing my fingers lightly to his lips. He smiled up at me, but sighed.

"He's so huge. I just…I don't know. I don't trust him, I guess."

"Jake's a good kid. He's a year younger then us, and a total teddy bear. He'll treat her good," I promised him. Jacob really was a nice boy, mature for his age, but also very young at heart. I thought him and Renesmee made a good pair.

"If you trust him…I trust him. I trust your judgment," Edward said, squeezing my hand gently.

"Thank you," I murmured, oddly touched. He trusted me so much, and we had only known each other for such a short amount of time. It was so strange how instantaneous our attraction, our feelings were. I leaned closer and pressed my lips against his, gently, sweetly. He kissed me back contently, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer. The party disappeared around us as I continued kissing him, opening my mouth so his tongue could slide in. It was magical.

Until his cell rang, completely ruining the moment.

Edward let out a groan of frustration, glancing at the caller ID. "Shit," he muttered.

"Who is it?"

"My mom. I'm supposed to be at a friend's house, not a party right now," he said. I jumped off of his lap.

"I know where to go." I grabbed his arm and fought my way through the crowd, ignoring the voices of my friends. I think someone tried to grab my butt, but they were gone before I could see who it is. I pulled Edward upstairs to Alice's room, grateful it was empty. As soon as I shut the door, all noise was gone—Alice's room was sound proof. Edward answered his phone just before it went to voicemail.

"Hello Mother," he answered, his voice perfectly casual and at ease. "Sorry, we were in the middle of a race. Yeah. I had them pause it. Uh-huh. Um…I'll be home around…" He glanced at me, eyebrows raised.

"Midnight," I mouthed.

"Midnight," he repeated. "Right. Okay. Bye." He hung up, breathing a sigh of relief.

"That was close," I sighed, sinking onto Alice's fluffy pink bed.

"Good thing it's so quiet in here," Edward added.

"Alice wanted something to block the noise when her parents were hosting parties. Sound proof walls." It was silent for a moment, as if to prove my point.

And then it hit me.

I was alone. In a bedroom. With Edward. Sitting on the bed. My cheeks flamed red. Did I seem like I was suggesting something? I went to stand up, but I figured that would look more suspicious, so I stayed put. I looked up at Edward, who was still hovering awkwardly near the door, unsure if he should join me. I patted the spot on the bed next to me, in what I hoped was a nonchalant way. Edward walked over and sank down next to me. Alice's bed was so cushy, that we both sort of slid towards each other, so our legs were pressed together.

"So…" I said, trying to think of something to say. What hadn't we talked about already? "Did Emmett and Jasper have to lie to their parents to get out too?" I blurted, the first question that came to mind.

"Yeah. Ren was allowed, as long as she was with us, and Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme won't rat me out to my parents. Emmett said he was going to my house and I said I was going to Emmett's. Jasper's nanny lets him go out whenever too," Edward said, happy to fill the silence.

"Where are Jasper's parents now?"

"Somewhere in Germany I think," Edward answered and I felt a surge of pity to Jasper. He was here, alone, no siblings or anything, while his parents were in Germany? That hardly seems fair.

"Poor Jasper," I sighed. Edward nodded in agreement. I was sitting on the edge of the bed wit my legs crossed at the ankle, sort of slouched over for a moment and Edward was quiet. When I looked up at him, I saw his gaze directed right at my chest. I looked down and saw I was pretty much popping out because of the way I was sitting. I shot up without thinking, and pulled the top of my dress up. I felt guilty though, because I knew Edward couldn't really help looking at my chest—I mean he is a guy and I was wearing a very revealing outfit.

"Sorry," Edward apologized instantly, his cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink. "That was very ungentlemanly at me."

"No, I'm sorry; I wasn't paying attention to how I was sitting. How can you ignore what's right in your face?" I babbled, sounding like a complete fool. I blushed bright red and buried my face in my hands, completely mortified. Oh God, I sounded like a total slut. Edward gently pulled my hands away from my face, tilting my chin so I looked up at him.

"Don't be embarrassed," he murmured, his voice slightly husky. "And don't hide your face. You're too beautiful to hide your face." He pulled my face to his and kissed me softly—and I reacted like any girl would while kissing Edward—I basically attacked him.

We ended up lying on the bed, kissing and touching lightly, but never going far. It was nice, and it felt so exiting to be up here with Edward, his hands on my skin leaving burning trails of fire behind them. It was amazing and exciting and unlike anything else I'd ever felt in my life to have him touch me, even in the most innocent places—my arms, my face, his lips on my neck and collarbone. Every kiss, every touch was magic.

He was magic. We were magic, whenever we were together. And I felt like magic just being near him. It was like a fairytale.

But I had a bad feeling we would never get our happily ever after.

_A/N: Oh, what could the end possibly mean? You'll have to wait and find out. Although I doubt I'll do a Romeo and Juliet type ending, I don't think I have the heart to kill off my two favorite characters. But we'll see. And also, this chapter is wicked long! So you're welcome ;D REVIEW!!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Okay, everyone, so this new story is coming out, and it's a bunch of awesome fan fiction writers all coming together to write one super story. I'm involved in it, I'm going to be writing chapter 13 as of right now, but things could change. Go to Dance or die's profile and alert the story Experiment. No one's really sure what it'll be about yet, everyone will be making it up as they go along, but it will be awesome if you guys all read it, I'd love the support. Also, check out my new one-shot "That Damn, Sexy Crooked Smile" which is super sad, Bella is an old, married woman, remembering her one true love, the man she would never forget, but it's got a happy ending.**

**Congrats to Crazybouttwilight14, a-pixie-with-attitude, MaryAliceWhitlock, twilighter11, BellaHermione, midnightkiss5697, TwerdyFanpire113, melissa is dazzled and , who all guessed the song. Great job! And sorry for this really long advertisement/author's note haha.  
**

Edward POV

_One week later…_

Bella and I had been dating for only a week, but it seemed like a lifetime. I could trust her. I could tell her my deepest secrets and greatest fears and know she would never judge me about it. She was so kind and understanding, beautiful, inside and out. I had no doubt about the love I held for her—I just wasn't sure if she was in love with me yet. I didn't want to say anything, in case I scared her off. But I knew I wanted to spend my life with her. She was so perfect. In every way.

Bella and I had been sneaking around every night to see each other. Most of the time we would meet at one of our friends houses before leaving to go somewhere by ourselves. I usually came to her house at night too, and we spent the time while her parents were asleep together. It was bliss being able to spend so much time with her. I just wished I didn't have to lie all the time—but if it was necessary to be with Bella, then I'd do it.

"Come on Edward get your head out of the clouds," Renesmee said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I blinked a few times and turned back to the table, mumbling an apology. Our families were having dinner together, and apparently Aunt Esme had been trying to ask me a question for the last five minutes when I'd been zoned out thinking about Bella.

"Edward dear you've been spacing out so much lately. What is the matter with you?" Elizabeth asked, sounding annoyed.

"Nothing…I've just been thinking a lot. I'm sorry, Mother." I hated how formal I always sounded with her. I was less formal with my aunt—at least she let me call her auntie.

"Zoning out, dreamy, far off looks. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Edward's in love," Aunt Esme teased, giving me a knowing look. Uncle Carlisle chuckled gently, taking Aunt Esme's hand in his.

"Don't be silly Mom," Renesmee said, giving Aunt Esme a playful swat on the hand. "No one's foolish enough to date Edward." I made a face at her and she giggled.

"Well it would be a nice change of pace if Edward was actually with a girl instead of his friends all the time," Father said, giving me a disapproving look. But I knew, as much as he wanted to know I wasn't gay, that he would still be pissed if he knew exactly who I was spending my time with. So I kept silent.

Idle chat continued throughout the meal. I could see Renesmee texting under the table, probably Jacob. I knew Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme could probably see her texting, but they didn't mind. They probably knew how she felt about Jacob and how excruciating this dinner was for us. They want her to be happy. Unlike my parents, who would throw a fit if I tried to text under the dinner table.

_"And I'm only up, when you're not down_

_Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground_

_It's like no matter what I do._

_Well you drive me crazy half the time_

_The other half I'm only trying to_

_Let you know that what I feel is true._

_And I'm only me when I'm with you." _I blushed as I realized that was the ringtone Bella had set for herself on my phone.

"Sorry," I mumbled. I desperately wanted to take the call, but I didn't know if my parents would let me. Well, screw them. "I'll be right back." I stood up from the table (Renesmee winked knowingly as I left) and walked into my bedroom.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey there." It was Bella, and instantly, my night was a million times better. Just hearing her gentle voice cheered me up so much. I wished she was in my arms, so I could hold her and kiss her. "Hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"Save is more like it," I complained. "Dinner was awful. Carlisle and Esme are wonderful people, but my parents basically ruined everything. And it doesn't help that Nessie is texting Jacob under the table the whole time, so I can't even have a conversation with her." Bella laughed, her voice loud and purely happy.

"It's really good to hear your voice," I said gently.

"You too. I miss you," she said, her voice saturated with longing. It made my heart sing to know she cared about me almost as much as I did for her.

"I miss you too. But we'll see each other tonight, right?"

"Definitely. But my parents are going to be up really late, because they have company. So you probably won't be able to come here unless you plan on sleeping over."

"I wouldn't mind," I teased.

"Neither would I," she admitted, and I knew she was blushing. "But my parents probably would. So that's out."

"Well, you can always come here. I mean, my parents will probably wind up sleeping at Uncle Carlisle and Auntie Esme's house anyways. So I have the house to myself. I'd love some company," I said, hoping I didn't seem too forward. I really would like company for the night; I wasn't expecting anything out of it.

"That would be fabulous…do you think…I mean, would you mind if I told my parents I was sleeping at Alice's and just spent the night with you?" She was biting her lip, I could tell. Her voice was high with worry and nerves, and I could picture the blush on her cheeks.

"That would be perfect," I told her eagerly. "I mean, if you want to. My parents will be out all night, and that way we don't have to worry about one of us driving home at night."

"Okay. I should let you get back to dinner, huh?" I groaned.

"Do I have to?" She giggled and I smiled, proud that I had made her laugh.

"Yes. Goodbye Edward. See you tonight."

"Fine," I sighed. "Bye." We both hung up and I reentered the dining room in much better spirits then I had left it in.

"Nice of you to join us," Elizabeth said snottily.

"Sorry. It was important," I said, shrugging. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and Father cleared his throat. I sat back down in my chair, too excited to eat. I just moved my food around on my plate to make it seem like I ate more.

"Edward, it's rude to answer phone calls at the dinner table," Father scolded.

"Sorry Father," I said, not bothering to defend myself—it was like chewing with my mouth open. I could say it was an accident, or that I was choking or something, but it would still be unacceptable. Choke with your mouth closed. God.

The rest of dinner went by even more slowly, now that I was anticipating my night with Bella. Renesmee was barely talking, since she was so engrossed with her text conversation with Jacob. Occasionally, she'd burst into hysterical laughter for no reason, and I'd know Jacob had just said something funny. My parents were practically glaring at Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme, but they acted oblivious. I could barely believe someone as sweet and nice as Aunt Esme could be sisters with someone like Elizabeth—it was like Cinderella versus the evil step-sister.

After what seemed like forever, my parents and Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle left—Renesmee was going to get a ride home from me, although I knew she was going out with Jacob about ten minutes after they left.

"Be good Edward," Elizabeth said, pecking me on both cheeks. "We'll be home by morning. You can have some friends over if you'd like, just no parties please."

"Sure thing Mother. Have fun."

"Bye son," Father said.

"Bye." The two of them left, chatting and laughing with Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme.

"Good God," Renesmee sighed once the door shut. "I thought they'd never leave. Jake should be here in five minutes. Just enough time for me to change."

"Change? You brought extra clothes?" I asked, surprised. I hadn't seen her with a bag or anything on her way in.

"Yup. I just hope it isn't wrinkled." She walked into the bathroom and was out two minutes later in a completely different outfit. She was wearing a white dress that sort of bubbled at the bottom so it clung to the top of her legs and a big, black belt under her chest. It was way too short and way too low. **(Picture on profile)**

"No way are you wearing that to go out with your boyfriend!" I protested instantly. "Unless you go put some pants on."

"Edward," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Please. Bella wears stuff like this all the time."

"But Bella is two years older and not my cousin. Go change!"

"No! I like it," she pouted, stomping her foot.

"I do too." I jumped about a mile in the air and whirled around to see Bella standing behind me, dressed in a casual pair of denim shorts and a black long sleeved t-shirt, an adorable smile on her face.

"Bella!" I exclaimed excitedly, Renesmee and her dress all but forgotten. I scooped her up in my arms and kissed her passionately as Renesmee made gagging noises behind us.

"Nice to see you too," Bella giggled, her legs dangling in the air slightly. "The door was open so I let myself in. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," I said instantly. Hell, I wouldn't of care if she broke in through the window. I was just glad she was here.

"And I think you should let Ren go out like that. She looks cute. Plus, I know where Jake's taking her, and this outfit is very appropriate. Trust me," she said, kissing the tip of my nose. I sighed, letting her slide back onto her feet. If Bella said it wasn't too bad…

"You know Bella, you're going to have to go with Edward when he buys my birthday present—that way you can pick out something really nice and he'll buy it no matter what," Nessie teased.

"Funny," I muttered, but it was true. I wasn't able to deny her anything. There was a loud honking from outside.

"Oh! That's Jake. See you two later. Bye Bella!" Nessie gave Bella quick kiss on the cheek before dancing out of the door, shutting it behind her.

"I still don't like that dress," I muttered.

"Don't worry, it's fine. Plus, Jake's a good kid." Bella leaned up and kissed me again, her fingers tangling in my hair. "I missed you," she whispered against my lips.

"I missed you too. But now we have all night to ourselves. Your parents weren't suspicious?"

"Nope. I told them I was sleeping at Alice's—I even had Alice drive me here. Speaking of which, I'll need a ride home in the morning."

"No problem," I said, sweeping her into a kiss again. She giggled against my lips as I took a few steps forward, backing her up against the closed door. Her arms wrapped around me, her fingers toying with my hair. I ran my hands across her sides, stomach, arms, my fingers running through her silky smooth hair, my tongue caressing hers. It was amazing.

Bella pulled away a few minutes later, her cheeks flushed red, her lips red and a bit swollen from kissing.

"Well hello to you too," she giggled.

"It's just really good to see you," I said, chuckling a bit on how I basically assaulted her right there—not that she minded.

"So what're we doing tonight?" she asked as I moved my arms, letting her move from her spot against the wall. She led the way to the kitchen, sinking onto one of the barstools that were by our island counter.

"I was thinking just a movie and relaxing," I suggested with a shrug. "But if you'd like to do something else, then I'm up for it."

"You know what I'd like to do?" she said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"What?"

"Bake a cake. And do all the frosting and everything all by myself. I never got to bake cakes as a kid. And I never even had an Easy Bake Over," she pouted, her lower lip jutting out a bit.

"Let's bake a cake then," I said. Bella let out an un-Bella like squeal and clapped her hands together. She pushed the sleeves of her long sleeve up and pulled her hair up into a messy bun, getting ready to work.

"Do you have any cake mix?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Sorry but my parents only make stuff from scratch," I said apologetically. "We could go out and buy some I suppose."

"No, no," Bella protested quickly, seeming excited. "Let's make it from scratch." She seemed so excited, like a little kid, and I couldn't help laughing at her enthusiasm. She stuck her tongue out at me and skipped into my bedroom, grabbing my laptop.

"Okay. Chocolate…cake…recipes," she said, talking as she typed. "Oh! This looks yummy. Best fudge cake recipe. And it doesn't look too hard. Do you have all this stuff?" She flipped the screen to show me and I glanced down the list—we had everything. Bella quickly printed out the recipe sheet and brought it into the kitchen.

"Okay," she said, starting to file through my cabinets. "Let's get started."

An hour later, we were covered in chocolate frosting, sugar and flour. Bella had a big streak of flour on her cheek and a bit of frosting on her nose, and I had sugar all over my shirt, since I had accidentally spilled the bag. We were sitting on the counter, waiting for our cake to bake. Bella had the bowl of mix in her lap and was absentmindedly licking the spoon she had used to mix.

"You look so adorable right now, you know that?" I told her, laughing a bit. She took another big lick of the spoon, giggling.

"Well, I think it's about time I treated myself to something yummy. And this chocolate is so good. Taste it." She dipped the spoon back into the bowl and held out a bit for me to taste. I leaned forward, but Bella suddenly pulled the edge of the spoon back, sending the contents flying at my face. They landed with a splat right on my nose and eyes. Bella burst out laughing.

"Y-you should've s-seen y-your face," she choked, her words barely intelligible through her laughter. "Y-you l-looked so shocked." She was clutching her stomach by now, unable to stop her laughter. I couldn't help but join in—her laughter was so infectious.

"You know what that means," I said menacingly, grabbing a chunk of half melted baking chocolate. Bella's laughter slowed considerably. "War."

"Don't! Edward! Stop!" she squeaked, jumping off the counter. She spun around to the other side, trying to escape me. "Edward. Don't." I took off running after her. She let out a shriek and ran around the counter. I grabbed her around the waist just as I lost my footing, slipping on some spilled egg yolk. I started falling, taking Bella with me, until we were both on the floor, her body on top of mine. She was laughing hysterically, unable to stop. I burst into laughter as well.

Bella spun her body around so her chest was pressed against mine. She leaned down and kissed me. She tasted like chocolate.

"Yum," she said, as she pulled away. "You taste like sugar."

The beep of the oven went off and we both jumped. Bella carefully climbed off of me and I stood after her. She grabbed oven mitts and reached into the oven, pulling out the pan. She set it on the counter to cool. Bella spent about a minute watching it.

"Oh I don't want to wait. Let's have some now," she said eagerly. She reached forward and cut a small piece for herself and one for me.

"Ready?" I asked, holding my piece in front of her as she held hers in front of mine. "Set. Go." I gently slid the piece of cake into Bella's mouth as she did the same to me. I chewed for a second.

It was disgusting.

I didn't want to say anything, but it was all burnt and rock hard. I looked up at Bella, who was staring at the cake as if it had personally offended her. I bit my lip to hold back laughter.

"Bella?" I said cautiously.

"It's awful," she pouted. "What'd I do wrong?" She started muttering about the ingredients and I grabbed the sheet, reading off of it.

"Did you add the sour cream?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Did you set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit?"

"Ye-wait…it said 450. It definitely said 450," she said, glancing at the oven, which clearly read 450. Uh oh.

"It says 350 Bella."

"Oh tits," she muttered, pressing a palm to her forehead. And I couldn't help it. I cracked up.

"You're such a jerk," she said, but I could tell she was joking. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her lightly.

"We need to clean up this mess and throw away that horrible crap you call cake," I told her. She made a face at me, but pulled out of my arms.

"Fine," she sighed. She picked up the cake and tossed the whole thing in the trash, taking the pan to the sink and beginning to scrub it. I grabbed a sponge and started cleaning all the food off of the floor—it wasn't too bad, I got it done pretty quickly. Bella wiped off the counter with a wet paper towel and then tossed away all the trash. I threw out the sponge I had used on the floor. The kitchen was spotless—or at least the same as it was before.

"Can I take a shower?" Bella asked shyly. "I think I got chocolate in my hair." I looked up, and sure enough, she had a large dollop of frosting stuck in her bun. I chuckled.

"Go ahead, use mine," I told her.

"Thanks." She gave me a quick peck on the cheek before dancing off to my bathroom, leaving a sugar trail behind her. I chuckled and grabbed a dustpan and broom to clean it up. I could hear the water turn on in my bathroom and heard Bella's voice as she softly sang, slightly off key. I chuckled and washed my hands, knowing I'd have to take a shower after Bella. I stayed in the kitchen, trying to limit my mess to one area.

"Edward?" I heard Bella calling out tentatively. "Edward?"

"Yes, love?" I called back, making my way towards my room.

"Do you have some clothes I can borrow? Mine are all messy…" she sounded embarrassed.

"Sure. Can I come into my room?"

"Yeah, I'm decent." I opened my door—and she most certainly was not decent.

She was in just a towel, clutching her curves, barely covering herself. Her hair was wet and dripping in curls all around her face. Her cheeks were a luscious red and she was biting her plump lip. I froze.

"I just didn't know which ones you'd want me to use," Bella said, snapping me out of my stupor.

"Uh, right," I said stupidly. "Um, you can take anything, next time." I half ran over to my dresser, pulling out a pair of too small basketball shorts and my senior sweatshirt.

"Thanks," Bella chirped, grabbing the clothes out of my hand. "I'll be out in a minute, and then you can shower. Although you might need to invest in some conditioner if I'm going to be showering here often." I smiled.

"I'll think about it." She giggled and slipped back into the bathroom to get dressed. I waited in my room, since I was going to be going in there after her. Bella came out a few minutes later, dressed in my clothes, her wet hair pulled into a ponytail on top of her head.

"Thanks," she said again, leaning over to kiss me. "Yummy," she said again, licking her lips and giggling.

"I'll be quick," I promised her, trying not to think about how sexy she looked in my clothes. "You can pick out a movie if you'd like."

"'Kay." She walked out of the room and I sighed and made my way into the bathroom. I took a quick (and cold) shower before getting dressed in a t-shirt and old flannel pajama pants. I joined Bella in the living room, where she had already started Beauty and the Beast and was watching with rapt attention. I chuckled when I saw her choice of movie, but joined her on the couch, pulling her into my arms. She sighed and relaxed against me, wrapping her arms around my midsection.

We watched the movie in mostly silence, kissing occasionally, but mostly just relaxing in each others arms. By the time the movie ended, it was already nearing midnight. Bella was half asleep in my arms.

"Ready for bed?" I asked her quietly.

"Yeah," she mumbled, sounding exhausted. I chuckled and scooped her easily into my arms, bridal style.

"You don't need to carry me," she protested.

"I know. I want to." She smiled up at me, holding her arms behind my neck and pulling me down a bit so she could kiss me as I carried her into my bedroom. I laid her gently on the bed before climbing in next to her. She curled up under the covers, wrapping her arms around me and snuggling her head into my chest.

"Goodnight Edward," she sighed.

"Goodnight Bella. I love you." At first, I didn't even realize what I'd said. It just seemed natural to say it. I love you. I love her. My Bella. But then I remembered we'd only been dating for a week and I highly doubted she loved me already.

"Oh Edward," Bella gasped, sitting up. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes," I admitted. "And I understand if you don't feel the same way, we're very soon into our relationship and—"

"Shut up and kiss me you fool," Bella interrupted, pulling my lips to hers with intense passion. "I. Love. You," she whispered between kisses. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you." I laughed exuberantly, eagerly kissing the angel in my arms.

"I love you," I whispered again. "I love you so much." Bella giggled.

"I love you Edward. You're my first and only love. And you're all mine," she giggled while placing kisses along my neck.

"I love you my Bella." I pulled her back into my arms, placing one last chaste kiss on her lips. She let out a yawn.

"Goodnight Edward. I love you," she said, smiling brightly.

"Goodnight, my love." My eyes drooped shut. Bella yawned beside me, her eyes shut, and we were both asleep.

I was awoken by a shrill shriek.

I shot up, as did Bella, as I glanced around for the source. At first I thought it had been Bella, but then I realized my mother was standing in the doorway.

"Oh tits," Bella whimpered quietly next to me.

"M-mom? What are you doing home so soon?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

"Your father and I decided not to stay at my sister's house. And what do we come home to find? You in bed with some tramp!" she shrieked. Bella's lip trembled and I could tell she was fighting back tears.

"Mom! She's not a tramp!" I yelled back.

"Not a tramp? Here she is in your bed, in your clothes in the middle of the night! How is that not trampy?" Elizabeth stormed.

"Mom it's not what it looks like—"

"I don't care. Just take her home." Her voice was final.

"Come on Bella, love," I told her softly, while still fuming at my mother. I could hear Bella sniffling quietly by my side and I knew she was in tears already. She stood on shaky legs and I led her past my mother.

"I'll be at the car in two minutes," I said, handing her the keys. "Lock the doors behind you. I love you." Bella just nodded, taking the keys before stumbling to the door. I wheeled around to my mother.

"So who was that?" she asked in disgust.

"That is my girlfriend. The girl I love. The most beautiful, perfect, amazing, sweet girl I know. You have no right—no right—to call Bella anything. Take a good look in the mirror and then see if you can think of anything to call my Bella." I knew I was being mean. But I was pissed. Beyond pissed. I couldn't believe I was even related to this woman. She was such a horrible, judgmental bitch.

I stormed outside, my footsteps loud in the silent house. Bella was sitting in the passenger seat, her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking in obvious sobs. Anger flared up at my mother again—how could she hurt my Bella like this? I climbed into the driver's seat and reached over to Bella, pulling her onto my lap.

"Bella, love, please. Don't listen to her. She's a bitch. We didn't even do anything," I told her, trying to sooth her. Her sobs were much louder in the confines of the car. She didn't speak; she just continued to sob for at least a half an hour, as I tried in vain to calm her down. I rubbed her hair, held her against my chest, holding her and kissing her softly. After about a half hour, she sat up, sniffling.

"Take me to Alice's please," she said, her voice weak and soft. She climbed into the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt. She stared out the window, not meeting my eye. I turned on the car and realized it was only about three in the morning. We drove in complete silence to Alice's house. I pulled up in front and Bella reached for the door.

"Hey," I said, reaching out to hold her wrist, keeping her in the car. "Are you okay?" She nodded silently. "I love you okay?" She nodded again.

"Goodbye," she murmured, and the way she said it sounded like goodbye forever.

_A/N: Oh, what could possibly be going on in Bella's head right now? You'll find out next chapter—back to BPOV._


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Hey everyone go check out my new story "The Way I Loved You" If you like this, you'll like it. It's based off Taylor Swift's "The Way I Loved You" which is an amazing song. It's co-written with me and xoxo41 and it's the first time I've done something like this so I'd appreciate it if you guy's read it. Basically, Edward is a sexy badass in a passionate relationship with Bella, but they're always fighting. What happens when Bella decides to end it for good? It's all human and an EDWARD/BELLA story. So read it!**

**Congrats to allieoop9417,** **LaTuACanTantE00mySinGer, You-Dazzle-Me-1901 and BlueBanana-94 who guessed the song last chapter!  
**

BPOV

I stumbled up to the door of Alice's apartment complex, fighting back tears. You think I would have cried up everything in Edward's car, but I was only beginning to feel the pain and regret of my actions. I knew that Edward didn't care and I knew he would want to stay with me…but how could I? How could I when his mother hated me, and with good reason, too? I opened the door without looking back, even though I desperately wanted to see his face. I half ran up the three flights of stairs to Alice's apartment, only tripping once in my hasty clumsiness. I grabbed her spare key from under the mat and let myself in. I tip-toed across the living room, praying her parents were in bed—they were known to stay up all night and sleep all day.

But luck seemed to be on my side and nobody was awake in the large apartment. I walked upstairs and knocked lightly on Alice's closed door. I could hear her soft breathing and I knew she was asleep, so I slowly creaked the door open and let myself in, shutting it behind me. Alice was fast asleep in the middle of her giant bed, a small smile on her face. Probably dreaming about Jasper, I thought bitterly.

"Alice?" I whispered, climbing onto her bed, sitting cross legged next to her. "Alice? Wake up." Alice's eyes slowly opened and she looked around groggily, surprise, then worry, flitting across her face when she saw me. I probably looked a mess from all that crying.

"Bella?" she said, her voice quiet and tired. "What happened? What's wrong?" Tears started pouring down my face as Alice sat up, slightly disoriented and clearly confused. She wrapped an arm around me, trying to comfort me.

"Bella, what's the matter? What happened, are you okay?" she asked nervously. I just shook my head, crying wordlessly against her shoulder. "Bella, please, you're scaring me."

"J-j-just g-give me a m-minute," I choked, trying to wipe away my stem of tears. God, why couldn't I stop crying? Why did I have to be so weak?

"Okay. I'm going to grab some Ben and Jerry's and then I'll be right back. This clearly calls for some ice cream," Alice said seriously, giving me a quick hug. I sniffled a bit, but managed a weak, wet smile. Ice cream would help…a little.

"Thanks Alice," I mumbled as she half ran from the room to grab some ice cream from downstairs. She was back thirty seconds later, a half pint of ice cream in each hand, two spoons balanced on top.

"Phish Food or Half Baked?" she asked, holding each one up.

"Phish Food," I answered. Alice grinned and handed me the container and a spoon. I opened the lid and took a bite, relishing in the chocolaty fudge flavor of the fish pieces. I took a few bites, my tears slowing considerably. Ice cream always helped with pain. I swear, they should sell it in pill form.

"So," Alice said, taking another bite of her own ice cream. Her voice was cautious, probably worried that I was going to burst into tears again. "What happened?" I sighed, fiddling with my spoon.

"I spent the night with Edward. I told my mom I was sleeping here," I confessed.

"Wait…by spend the night do you mean sleeping…or, you know, _sleeping_?" she asked suggestively, making air quotes.

"Regular sleeping. We baked a cake and watched a movie and then went to sleep," I clarified. Alice nodded, completely serious.

"Go on."

"Well…we sort of got really messy while we baked the cake, so I had taken a shower and changed into a pair of his clothes," I continued, feeling my throat start to tighten up. "So that's what I was wearing when we fell asleep."

Alice's eyes were slightly wide and I figured she probably already guessed what happened. I continued anyways.

"His parents weren't supposed to be home till tomorrow. Or later today I guess," I said, glancing at the clock. "But they came home early. And his mother…came in his room…and saw us." I had to take deep breaths to keep my voice from cracking and the tears from falling.

"So his mom starts freaking out and calls me a tramp and everything. And she's completely r-right," I said, only starting to tear up at the end.

"Oh Bells, she isn't right. Not a bit. You didn't even do anything," Alice said, wrapping her arm around me again. "And she had no right to call you a tramp. She doesn't even know you. She doesn't even know what she's talking about."

"But I s-spent the n-night at my b-b-boyfriend's of a w-week's house!" I gasped. "His m-mom already h-hates me b-because I'm a-a Swan, and n-now she'll hate m-me even more!"

"So what Bells? You love him don't you? Who cares what his mom thinks of you?" Alice said strongly. "He's the one you love, not her. Edward is the only one who matters right now."

"I c-can't date h-him if h-his mom thinks I'm a s-s-slut!" I sobbed. She didn't understand, she just didn't get it. "And I shouldn't h-h-have acted l-like one in the f-f-first place!"

"Bella, you're not a slut. You aren't," Alice said fiercely. "You didn't do anything but sleep!"

"But she thinks I am! And what am I supposed to do? Walk up to her and be like 'oh, I know you hate my guts and think I'm a slut, but I swear I was only sleeping in your house without your knowledge, in your son's bed, while wearing his clothes, not having sex,'" I said sarcastically, my anger allowing me to form complete sentences without sobbing. Alice bit her lip, trying to think of what to say.

"Well…you guys knew your parents didn't like each other. You know, the whole 'mortal enemies' thing. Why does it bother you so much now?" she asked, taking another bite of her ice cream, seeming proud of herself for bringing up such a good point.

"Because. If Elizabeth Masen had only hated me because of who I was related to, I could probably somehow convince her to like me, or at least forget who my family was so I could be with Edward. Same with him and my parents. We're keeping it a secret for now, but we know that if things get more serious, we were going to tell our parents about us, and how we weren't going to give each other up. So she already dislikes me because of that. And now, she thinks I'm a slut who goes into her house without permission and has sex with her son!" When I finished my little rant, I burst into sobs again. Alice sighed, but wrapped her arms around me again, letting me wreck her shirt with my salt tears.

"I snuck out of my parent's house and I lied, telling them I was coming here, without even asking you. I spend the night at my boyfriend's house, who I've only known for a week, and take a shower in his house, wear his clothes and sleep in his bed for the night, all the while, my parents think I'm at your house. Then I get caught by his mother and come here in the middle of the night and I'll have to go home tomorrow and tell my parents I had a fun time here," I summed up, shaking my head. I disgusted myself. I was such a liar, such a horrible daughter and person. I love Edward, and that should be all that matters. But it isn't.

"Bella, everything will work out," Alice said, ignoring my little speech. "It has to. If you guys really love each other, you can make it work."

"I hope you're right Alice. I really hope you're right," I mumbled. "What about you and Jasper? What are you guys going to do?" I asked, needing a distraction.

"Well, his parents are gone basically all the time—they're not a big part of this whole feud thing. The last time he talked to them, he told them he had a girlfriend and he said my full name and they either didn't make the connection or didn't care. Plus, they're going to be in Germany for at least two more years and I figure we can always get married in Vegas before they come back and then they'll have no choice but to accept me," Alice explained, so sure of her future.

"And once they meet you they'll love you just like everyone else in the world," I teased. She grinned, but didn't disagree. "What about your parents?"

"My parents are…well, pretty much oblivious. They know I've been spending time with Jasper, but they don't really know who he is, since they've never actually seen him before. And they don't really care what I do so long as I don't get caught doing anything illegal by the police, and I don't disgrace the family name." She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I never thought my parents' lack of care would come in handy, but it did." I sighed. My parents cared—sometimes. Like when I get hurt, Charlie always takes me to the hospital himself and stays with me. And when I'm sick, Renee will make sure I have medicine and everything in the mornings. But most of the time they just did their own thing, never really bothering to raise me. It sucked.

"What about Rosalie and Emmett? What are they doing?" I asked, desperate to keep the conversation going, to keep my thoughts away. I needed a distraction and I needed it badly.

"Well according to Rose, they're just going to stay together no matter what. If they have to separate from their families, they don't really care. Their love is…different. It seems so physical and superficial, but they love each other so _fiercely_ and strong. They would die for one another. It's strange but it's true," Alice said, shaking her head a bit. "Emmett is her protector, but she protects him all the same—just in a different way. It's hard to describe."

I nodded, unable to answer. I wanted to stop caring—so badly. I wanted to just forget about my parents and Edward's and just be with him. But for some strange, unfathomable reason, I cared so much what they thought. I wanted his mother to like me and I wanted my parents to like him. I wanted them to at least tolerate each other. It would make everything so much easier. I love Edward and even after all they've done to me (or not done is more accurate) I love my parents too. It was so…hard.

And I knew that if I ran away with Edward—whether it be today, tomorrow or a year from now—I knew I would always live with regrets. Regrets that I never told me parents how much I love them, that I never got to know Edward's family. I would feel guilty about stealing their only child away, and I'm sure Edward would feel the same. It would always be there in the back of our minds—that one, big mistake. Could I bring myself past that? Could I make the sacrifices I needed to make, no matter how big or painful, to be with Edward?

My eyelids started to droop, so I shut my carton of ice cream and stuck it on the nightstand before crawling under her blankets and falling asleep, tears still falling steadily down my face.

Edward called my cell phone the next morning. I let it go to voicemail, too ashamed and undecided to answer just yet. I needed time to think before I could talk to him. To think about last night, and everything the decisions I had to make. I didn't want to think of it as choosing between my family and Edward, but that's essentially what I was doing. Could I turn my back on my family for the man I love?

I left Alice's house pretty early, since she had plans with Jasper. I felt stupidly jealous as I watched her get all pampered for her date. I knew I still had Edward—I just wasn't sure how long I was going to keep him. Forever? Never? Who knew? I was still so undecided.

Gracie ran into the foyer as I entered the house, barking like mad. She jumped up on my legs, trying to lick my hands. I picked her up and scratched under her chin, cooing to her. She wagged her tail like mad and tried to lick my cheeks. I laughed and brought her upstairs with me, desperate for a nap. I hadn't slept much at Edward's or at Alice's and I needed some time to sleep.

I took a good six hour nap, and by the time I woke up and got showered and dressed, it was around five, so I decided to just have some dinner. I had another mixed call from Edward, and a text, but I didn't answer him. He was just asking if I was okay, and if I wanted to hang out tonight because he missed me and really wanted to see me. The longing and worry in my voice made it so much harder to ignore, but I didn't want to face him until I was ready—until I was completely sure of my choice.

I had a simply grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, since I was eating alone. I fed Gracie, who had loyally slept by my side during my nap, and went back upstairs to listen to some music. I put on some mindless love song and laid back down on my bed, suddenly exhausted again. My phone rang, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" and I knew it was Edward calling again, still worrying. I didn't answer and I found myself drifting back to sleep.

I awoke to a strange…knocking sound. I glanced at my clock and saw it was around ten (how had I slept so much in one damn day?) and looked around, trying to identify the sound. It wasn't anything like the tiny thumps of pebbles hitting my window, but it wasn't something I was used to. It was like…someone was knocking on the door.

"Hello?" I called, nerves creeping up my back. I glanced at the door, my eyes sliding over my window…and I shrieked when I realized a person was standing directly outside of my window. A green-eyed, bronze-haired figure.

"Edward?" I gasped, jumping up. What if he fell? I wrenched the window open. "How the hell did you get up here?"

"Climbed," he answered simply. He gracefully pulled himself through the window, landing with a not so graceful plop on the floor. He groaned, rubbing his elbow, and pulled himself to his feet.

"On what?" I asked, giggling a bit. I mean, he did fall. And when is it not funny when a person falls?

"The trellis," he said. "I didn't think it was going to hold me though. I was afraid it would snap and I'd fall and crack my neck or something."

"Don't even say that," I scolded, my heart pounding at the thought.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls?" he demanded, cutting straight to the chase.

"I…I've been busy," I lied feebly.

"With what? Avoiding my calls?" he asked sarcastically. I sighed.

"Well…I've just been doing a lot of thinking," I mumbled, my gaze on my feet. It was easier to talk when I wasn't blinded by the dazzling force of his eyes. Edward let out a frustrated sigh and took my hands in his, leading me to the bed. He sat down and pulled me down next to him. His hand reached for my chin and he turned my head to face him.

"I've been so worried about you Bella," he admitted, his face so unexpectedly vulnerable. My chin quivered. How could I ever leave him? I loved him so much in such a short time! "Nessie kept telling me to give you time, to give you your space when you need it, but I had no idea what you were thinking or how you were feeling. It was killing me to be away from you Bella."

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. Edward wrapped his arms around me, pulling me onto his lap. He lifted my face again so our lips were only inches away.

"Don't be," he whispered. "Just tell me what's wrong. Tell me what you're thinking."

And I did. I trusted him so thoroughly, so wholly and completely, that I told him without hesitation. I couldn't even do that with my best friend. But I could do it with Edward. I could share everything with him—my love, my life, my self. Everything.

"I can't have our parents hate each other Edward," I began in a slightly hysterical voice. "I can't! For some crazy reason, I love my parents, and for some other crazy reason, I want your parents to like me. It just feels all wrong with our parents hating each other. And I know, no matter what, no matter how far our relationship goes, this will always be taking a toll and pulling us in the opposite direction. I don't want this to hurt us Edward, but I don't know how it can be avoided." A few tears slid down my cheeks and I wiped them away furiously.

"Bella," Edward sighed. "Bella, Bella, Bella. My Bella." He kissed the top of my head and pulled me tighter against him. "I love you Bella. Nothing is going to ever stop that, okay?"

"Okay," I whispered. "But what about our parents?"

"Bella, if we love each other enough and our parents _see_ that, then there is no way they'll keep us apart. Right now they don't understand. They think we're just teenagers with crushes. But it's so much more then that. We just need to prove it to them. Right now, I'll admit, it doesn't seem like there is going to be any progress with our parents. But I know that after a while, they'll see our love and they'll realize they were long. They may never get along—but they'll tolerate each other for us. If they really love us, then they will."

He sounded so sure of himself, so certain of our future, that I couldn't help but trust him. It all sounded like it made sense. But could our parents ever get along. Could Edward's mother ever truly like me? Or at least not hate me?

"But what about last night? Your mom—"

"Doesn't know what she's talking about," Edward cut in. "It was a misunderstanding Bella. I told my mom that nothing happened with us."

"But does she believe you?" I retorted.

"I don't really know. And even if she doesn't, would it matter?" he demanded.

"I want her to like me Edward. I really do. I want your parents to like me." I stared at my hands.

"I know Bella and I'm positive that they will...they just need some time to cool down. Give all this time to blow over and then we can do the proper introductions and we can explain what happened and explain how strong our love is. If they love us, they'll see it. They'll understand," Edward said fiercely.

"Right. I guess so." My voice was finally beginning to turn hopeful. Edward loved me and I loved him. Love can conquer anything right?

"Good. I love you Bella. So much more than any feud or fight can ever change." He pulled my lips to his and kissed me. I missed the taste of his lips so much and it had only been a day. How could I ever stay away from this beautiful Adonis?

"I love you too," I whispered when I came up for air. Things were finally looking up for us.

But you know what they say. What goes up must come down.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Sorry it took a while to update. My beta is MIA and I was waiting for her to correct the chapter but I decided to just post it because I've been dying to post this chapter since I wrote "The Damn, Sexy Crooked Smile"**

**Congrats to RedHeadedBelle and kaosgurl100 who both guessed the song last chapter. I think pretty much everyone's guessed it already, and I'll post the answer at the end for those of you who still don't know. Great job guys!  
**

BPOV

I woke up early the next morning from sleeping most of the day. Edward left a little while after we made up (and spent some time fooling around) but we were going to spend more time together today. I suggested we spend time with all of our friends. I had barely seen Rosalie lately, and I hadn't formally met Emmett or Jasper. Edward was all for it and I was going to give Alice a call in a few hours once she woke up and let her know. And ask her the weather. Alice has an uncanny ability to predict the weather (which is sort of easy in Washington, since it's always raining) and our plans would probably depend on the weather.

I got up and hopped into the shower, letting the hot water sooth my muscles. I worked some of my strawberry scented shampoo into my hair, loving the scent of it. One of my favorite parts of the shampoo, besides the smell, was that when you lathered your hair, the whole tub practically got filled with the pink soap subs. It was quite pretty and sometimes fun to play with if I was bored. Plus, it left the rest of my body smelling like strawberries for the rest of the day.

After my shower I got dressed in plain jeans and a tank top before blow drying my hair pin straight. I ran a flat iron through it as well to get rid of the frizz and glanced in the mirror. I was pleasantly surprised at how my cheeks were slightly flushed and my eyes sparkling back at me. I smiled and it came easier then usual—probably because I was looking forward to seeing Edward.

My phone rang then and I hustled to grab it, hoping for Edward. It was Alice, which was second best. Not that I'd tell her that.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey girl," Alice trilled back. "How'd everything go?"

"Amazing. Edward and I are back together and we're going to just keep our relationship on the down low for a little while and then formally introduce each other to our parents. That way our love will be even stronger and everything will work out," I explained cheerfully. Alice laughed.

"You sound like one of those dating website commercials," she teased. "But it's cute. I'm glad you guys love each other so much."

"Me too," I agreed wistfully. "Anyways, I was thinking we should all hang out tonight. Like me, you, Rose, Emmett, Jasper and Edward."

"Bella you read my mind! I think so too. I've never really met Edward or spent any time with him or Emmett. And I want you guys to meet Jasper. I know you'll love him, it's impossible not to," Alice gushed, happy to talk about her love.

"What's the forecast for tonight Madame Alice?" I asked jokingly.

"Madame Alice predicts a change in the weather," Alice began in a heavily accented, ominous voice. "I see…more rain! And a chance of thunderstorms." She dropped the physic voice and continued. "I was thinking we should all hang out at someone's house and just stay in because I think it's going to be really bad out. Not good driving conditions, you know?"

"Sure thing Alice. Hey, we should invite Jake and Ren too! You'll love Ren she's a total sweetheart. And you know Jake's a great guy. Plus I think it would help Edward to see the two of them together. Maybe then he'll trust Jake more and give Ren some more space," I suggested, already thinking of the benefits of the idea.

"The more the merrier," Alice said instantly. "I know Ren and I will be great friends. Invite her along. Jasper said his nanny said he can have people over for a while, so we can go there. Will you call Jake and Ren and Edward?" Alice didn't take one breath the entire time she spoke. It was unnerving.

"Sure thing Alice. Now take a deep breath, don't drink any more coffee, and call up Rose, Emmett and Jasper," I told her, only half joking. She laughed anyways.

"Bye Bella. See you tonight!" she chirped.

"Sure. Bye." We both hung up and I instantly dialed Edward's number.

"Hello, love," he answered happily.

"Hey there," I replied, my voice softening. "I just found plans for us tonight, if you're still up for it."

"Of course," he answered instantly. "I'm up for anything as long as we're together." I shivered pleasantly at his words.

"Well Jasper can have people over according to Alice so we can go there. It's not going to be a party or anything, just me and you, Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett and Ren and Jacob. It should be fun to get to know everyone better," I said sincerely.

"Yeah it will. Would you like me to call Nessie?" he asked kindly.

"No, I'd like to chat with her anyways. She's such a sweet girl."

"Until you have to be around her for longer then ten minutes," he grumbled in response. I laughed. "Would you like a ride tonight?"

"I can drive myself. You'd be going out of your way," I protested, although I didn't mind getting more alone time with him.

"Yeah, but it's supposed to be really bad weather and I'd feel better if I was driving you. At least then I'd know you're safe," he said, his voice managing to smolder. I shivered again.

"Alright fine. I'll see you around seven?"

"Sure. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye." We both hung up. I was grinning broadly, just from talking to him. This boy got some crazy reactions out of me. And I loved every second of it. I dialed Ren's number quickly and she answered on the second ring.

"Hi Bella!" she chirped cheerfully.

"Hey girl. I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with me and my friends tonight. It's going to be everyone, me, you, Jacob, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper. I'd love for you to get to know my friend's better," I said quickly. Ren let out a girly squeal.

"Oh my God I'd love to!" she squeaked enthusiastically. "This is so exciting! I get to hang with all college girls and guys! Where are we going?"

"Jasper's house. I'm sure Jake can give you a ride if you need one. Although you probably know where it is better then him," I said thoughtfully.

"Maybe he'll let me drive his car!" she said excitedly. This girl was such a bundle of energy. "I got my license a few weeks ago and I've been dying to drive. But Mom and Dad won't let me get a car until I 'earn it.'" I could practically hear the air quotes. "I love 'em but they're seriously limiting my nightly options." I laughed. I could remember what it was like to be sixteen and I missed it as I spoke with Ren.

"I'm calling Jacob after you so I can ask him if you'd like," I offered.

"No that's okay. I'll call him anyways; I've been wanting to talk to him. He's such a sweetie pie. I'm head over heels Bella. Although you definitely know what that feels like."

"Yeah…I do." A smile spread across my face as I thought of the only man I'd ever loved.

Edward honked the horn outside and I grabbed my cell phone, sliding it into the back pocket of my jeans. I slid on a pair of plain white flip-flops that matched the white beading on my navy blue tank top. I half ran outside to Edward's car, shielding my hair from the rain. I hated what my hair did in the rain—frizz, frizz, frizz. I didn't have to hide the fact that I was going out with him—neither of my parents were home. I told them I would be out for the night and they said fine. They didn't even ask for details.

"Hey," I said as I climbed in, leaning over to place a chaste kiss on his lips. He grinned.

"Hey," he answered, pulling away from the curb and speeding towards the opposite side of town, where Jasper lived. A clap of thunder shocked me—I jumped in my seat and Edward laughed quietly.

"Scared of a little thunder?" he asked innocently.

"It just surprised me," I said defensively, although I really hated driving in storms. I felt safe with him behind the wheel. Edward is an excellent driver.

"Sure," he said sarcastically and I stuck my tongue out at him. Houses sped by in a blur as we coasted along the nearly empty highway. Not too many people drove in storms like this. I felt half sick the whole time, worrying. I was extremely relieved when we made it to Jasper's house in one piece.

"Come on. You can meet Anita, Jasper's nanny. She's really nice and she basically let's us do whatever we want, since we're not her kids," Edward said. I went to open the door, but his hand on my arm stopped me. "Don't you have a jacket?" he asked disapprovingly.

"No, I forgot one," I admitted sheepishly. I was in a hurry to see him. Edward slid his jacket off and handed it to me. "Now you don't have one!" I protested.

"I've got a sweatshirt, I'm fine," he said quickly, brushing off my protests. He handed me the jacket and I pulled it over my arms, pulling the hood over my hair.

"On three we run for it," Edward said, hand on his door handle. "One…two…three!" I jumped out of the car, the rain pouring down on me in buckets. I let out a little shriek of surprise—it was far worse than our usual summer storms. I was soaked through in seconds. Edward ran to my side and took my hand, dragging me to the house. I fought to keep my balance as we hurried up to the door. We both sighed in relief when we reached the porch. Edward shook his hair out a bit to get the water out and I shivered.

A beautiful Spanish woman opened the door for us.

"Hello," she said politely. "Come right in. Jasper and his friends are in the basement."

"Thanks Anita," Edward said. "This is my girlfriend Bella by the way."

"Very nice to meet you Bella," Anita said in a thick accent. "Mr. Edward has talked about you nonstop." She smiled affectionately at Edward, who grinned sheepishly back.

"See you later Anita," Edward said, taking my hand and leading me through an open door and downstairs. I could hear laughter and chatter already and everyone called out to us as we walked through the doors.

"Man, you guys are soaked!" Emmett shouted.

"No shit Sherlock," Edward mumbled and I laughed. I ran over to Rosalie and gave her a hug. It felt like I hadn't seen her in forever. Ren was sitting on the couch on Jacob's lap and she waved cheerfully at me, her face alight with happiness. I laughed and waved back. Edward and I squished ourselves into one of the oversized leather armchairs, so I was basically on his lap. Jacob, Ren, Rosalie and Emmett were sharing the couch, and Jasper and Alice were directly across from us on another oversized armchair.

"It's good to see you guys. It's good for all of us to become friends like this," Alice said happily. "My best girlfriends and my boyfriend and their boyfriends and we're all just one big happy family." Everyone laughed at Alice's over-peppiness.

"Well I say we get this party started," Ren suggested, grabbing a bottle of vodka that was hidden behind the couch. Edward frowned disapprovingly at her.

"You're too young to drink," Edward scolded as Ren took a swig from the bottle before handing it to Jacob who passed it to Rosalie, claiming he was driving and couldn't drink.

"Told you he's responsible," I whispered to Edward and he chuckled. Emmett and Rosalie were going to be spending the night at Jasper's, as was Alice, so all of them combined drank half of the bottle. I only took a sip—I wasn't really in the mood to get drunk.

"I kind of like weather like this," I said after a moment, my voice breathy. "I've always wanted to just run outside in a storm like this and dance around in the rain, you know?" Alice and Rosalie exchanged a glance.

"Let's go outside!" they both shouted.

"But it's raining," Jasper protested. "We'll get soaked."

"Exactly," Ren giggled, already jumping up. "It's warm enough out and I love jumping around in puddles. Let's do it!" She grabbed Jacob's hand and pulled him up.

"Come on guys!" she shouted as she ran up the stairs. I glanced at Edward, the longing clear on my face.

"Let's go," he said and I jumped up, letting out an excited giggle. I took his hand and we ran up the stairs together, Alice and Jasper right behind us. Edward led the way to Jasper's back door and we paused in front of it. Ren and Jacob were already outside, slipping and sliding on the muddy grass. They were both laughing.

"Come on," I pleaded. I opened the door and got hit by a spray of rain. It's now or never, I reminded myself. Carpe diem. Seize the day.

I took Edward's hand and pulled both of us into the showering rain.

I was soaked nearly instantly. The rain was pouring down in buckets. My hair turned stringy, dripping at the ends, my clothes were soaked through and my feet were frozen, but it felt like nothing I had ever felt before. It was exhilarating and exciting. Jasper and Alice ran out behind us, both of them cheering and whooping. I laughed and ran to the middle of the yard, spinning around in circles, eyes closed, face raised towards the heavens. I could feel the raindrops hitting my closed eyelids, my mouth, my cheeks, and I loved every minute of it.

Until, of course, I slipped and tumbled into the mud.

I let out a shocked squeal and heard a burst of laughter next to me. Edward was cracking up, clutching his stomach as he watched me. I could feel mud on my pants but I stayed put, joining in his laughter. He looked so sexy, dripping wet, his clothes clinging to his muscular body, his hair all disheveled.

"You think it's funny?" I asked him, almost shouting to be heard over the pounding rain. He just continued to laugh. "At least help me up!" I whined, holding my arm out. He chuckled and reached an arm over to help me up. As soon as his hand was in mine, I yanked on it, pulling him down with me.

"Hey!" he yelled in surprise before falling next to me with an "oof!" I burst into laughter.

"You're right, it is funny," I choked. Edward sat up, mud stained on his sweatshirt and jeans. I saw his plan in his eyes and I tried to scramble away, but he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. I let out a shriek as he whirled us around so I was laying on the ground as he hovered over me, the rain continuing to pound down on us.

"Gotcha," he whispered. I giggled and he leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. I was so happy! My first intense, straight out of a chick flick, pouring rain kiss. It was everything it was supposed to be and more. I could feel water and mud soaking through my clothes, but I didn't care. I was having way too much fun with my movie scene kiss.

All too soon, Edward pulled away, grinning from ear to ear. He stood up, managing to pull me up with him. All around us, our friends danced, getting soaked, and jumped from puddle to puddle, splashing mud at each other. I felt like a little kid again.

"Care to dance?" Edward asked, holding a hand out. I giggled again and placed my hand in his and we began a slippery dance. Edward spun me around and dipped me and we twirled, laughing the whole time. It was like something out of a cheesy romance novel.

"I love this!" I shouted, feeling so childlike and carefree. Right then, all the troubles in the world didn't matter. It was just Edward and I, dancing in the rain with our closest friends. Everything was perfect.

"Children! Jasper, don't be foolish! Get into the house!" Anita's voice rang out from the doorway and I stopped, mid-twirl. I slipped a bit, almost tumbling back into the mud. Edward caught me and pulled me against his chest. "Come on children, get in the house!" Everyone began filing towards the house, asking if they could get blankets or towels and hot chocolate. It sounded very nice to me—I was shivering. Dancing in the rain is fun, but impractical. I started towards the house but instantly slipped, sending me tumbling back into Edward.

"Am I going to have to carry you?" he whispered, his warm breath tickling my ear. My next shiver had nothing to do with the cold. Edward didn't wait for my answer. He bent down, his arms easily knocking me off of my feet, his other arm under my neck, holding me bridal style.

"Hey!" I protested weakly. Edward just chuckled, pulling me closer against his chest. I snuggled into him, his chest warm against my wet body. Edward maneuvered his way easily across the muddy field and carried me across the threshold, Anita closing the door behind us. Instead of putting me down when we got inside, he continued to carry me, all the way downstairs to the basement. There were huge towels laid out for us already. Edward grabbed them, one-handed, and sank onto an armchair, me on his lap, pulling the towels over both of us. I pulled the towel up to my neck, making sure to cover Edward as well and snuggled into his lap, curling into a ball so he could wrap his arms around me and hold the towel closer.

"That was so much fun," Rosalie said. Her blond hair was a shade darker from the water and her clothes were soaked. She had a towel wrapped around her shoulders, Emmett's arm holding it in place and holding her against his body. Her teeth were chattering, but she looked so excited.

"I know," Ren agreed quickly. She was sitting on Jacob's lap, a towel wrapped around each of them. Anita came downstairs then, a tray of mugs balanced in her hands.

"I brought hot chocolate," she said. "It will warm you up. So foolish, dancing in the rain." She shook her head, muttering in Spanish. She went around the room handing everyone a mug. Mine was warm and the steam rose up from it, smelling like chocolate. We all thanked her before she went upstairs. I took a cautious sip of my drink—it was delicious. Hot, but delicious.

We spent most of the night talking and drinking rounds and rounds of hot chocolate. Ren spiked hers with vodka, and gave some to Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper as well. Edward and Jacob passed, since they were driving, and I didn't want any. They were all pretty tipsy by the end of the night and Ren started telling embarrassing stories about Edward.

"So Edward was like ten and I was eight," she giggled. "Mom and Dad took us to the mall and we went into a jewelry store because Mom wanted to pick something out for Auntie Liz, Edward's mom. So Edward is looking at all the pretty, sparkly things, since he was only like nine and I was seven, and he saw one he really liked that was out on display. So he reaches into the case and I guess someone left it unlocked because he managed to open it. So he takes it and puts it into his pocket." Ren was laughing hysterically by now and Edward's ears were bright red.

"And as we're leaving, everyone starts freaking out, because someone notices that the diamond is gone—and it's like this super rare, super expensive diamond, not that our little Eddie knew that. So Edward freaked out and went to leave the store, and he set off all the alarms. Like four security guards went and tackled him to the ground and grabbed the diamond out of his pocket. Edward was in hysterics, sobbing and crying and yelling about how he didn't know he was stealing and he didn't want to go to prison." I bit my lip to try and hold in my giggles but the shaking of my body notified Edward that I was cracking up. He scowled at me.

"Mom and Dad had to go in for questioning with Edward for days. They kept asking if someone told him to take the diamond, and if he was paid to steal it. It was hilarious. Of course they didn't get in trouble and they fired the guy who left the diamond case unlocked in the first place and it all blew over. But Edward refused to go to the mall for at least a year," Ren finished. Everyone was laughing at this point. My face was red with the effort of trying not to laugh.

"Funny," Edward muttered. "I was traumatized. The security guards were huge and they just took me out!" He looked visibly terrified and I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer.

"Laugh now," he said to me. "But don't get mad if you never get any jewelry from me because I'm too afraid to go in the stores anymore."

"I'm sorry you had to go through such a traumatizing ordeal," I deadpanned, managing to keep a straight face. He stuck his tongue out at me and I laughed again.

"Well, Nessie, how about we tell everyone that story of your little accident in the first grade?" Edward asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Okay, time for my cousin to leave," she said quickly, her eyes wide in panic.

"No, no, I want to hear this," Jake said curiously.

"Traitor!" Ren exclaimed.

"Well, when Nessie was in first grade, she was in class one day and really, really had to go to the bathroom. Her teacher kept telling her to wait till recess that it was only fifteen minutes away and she'd be fine. Apparently fifteen minutes was too long." I was already snickering—I could see where this story was headed.

"So Nessie asks again if she can go to the bathroom, but the teacher told her it was only five minutes and she could hold it. But…she couldn't. So Nessie, being the smart girl she was, jumped up and ran to the nearest bathroom—which just happened to be the boy's room. She ran right into the stall and when she came out, about four boys were standing there with wide eyes yelling 'there's a girl in here!'" Edward said, laughing the whole time.

"Nessie ran outside and saw her whole class and teacher waiting for her and everybody starting laughing when they realized she had used the wrong room. She hasn't used a school bathroom since." Edward shook with laughter underneath me and I was giggling like crazy.

"I had to go; I didn't have time to read the signs!" Ren said defensively as Jacob chortled beneath her. "And I still get teased for that. And now it's time for us to leave. Jacob needs to be taught about how to respect his girlfriend." Jake stopped laughing at that. The two of them stood.

"We actually should be going if you want to get home in time," Jacob noted, glancing at the clock. "Bye guys. Thanks for having us Jasper."

"Bye. See you soon!" everyone called. The two of them left, Ren lecturing him the whole time.

"We should go too," Edward sighed. "I have to get you home Miss Swan."

"Okay," I agreed reluctantly. I stood up, the towel falling off of me, and stretched. I was stiff from sitting in one position for so long. "Bye guys." I gave Alice and Rose pecks on the cheek and waved to Jasper and Emmett.

"See you tomorrow," Alice chirped cheerfully. We all said our goodbyes and Edward took my hand, leading me upstairs. I was nearly dry by now, but my hair was still messy and a bit wet, my clothes damp enough to be chilly. Edward gave me his jacket again as we ran to his car, trying to stay dry. Edward started the car, turning the heat up to keep us warm. We rode in silence for a few minutes as I watched the rain continue to pelt down on the car, sliding across the windows of the car.

"That was fun," I said, turning to face Edward.

"Yeah it was," he agreed. "We should—" But I never got to hear the end of his sentence. My eyes went wide with horror and fear as the car next to us, a huge SUV, crashed directly into Edward's side of the car. There was a deafening boom of metal on metal and suddenly the world was spinning. The last thing I could hear were screams—were they possibly my own?—and then everything went black.

**A/N: Oh man, I know I'm mean. But the dancing in the rain part was nice right? Now let's just hope they live to see the next chapter. REVIEW and maybe I'll update quicker ;D  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**A/N: I saw the Twilight movie last night!! It was much better then I expected, I liked most of it. And Kellan Lutz is freaking gorgeous! And Jackson Ratheborn is so good as Jasper, absolutely how I pictured him haha.**

**The only person to guess the song was bookworm-moviewatcher, so good for her.**

BPOV

The world was spinning. My head was throbbing. My heart was beating so loudly, it was the only sound I could hear. It consumed me. I could feel dull aches and pains all over my body, cuts and scratches, pain numbed by shock. I could smell the rusty salt smell of blood, extremely potent in the air; it was nearly all I could smell. I could feel the wet rain as it hit my skin. But how was it hitting me? I was in the car…

My eyes sprang open, even though I hadn't realized they were shut. I glanced around, but it was dark. All I could see was water, glass and metal, crushed and misshapen. Everything was sideways. I could see trees surrounding me and a cool breeze blew through the broken window, sending the smell of dewy grass and mossy trees.

I tried to move, but everything hurt. A sharp pain in my leg caused me to shout out and every part of my body throbbed and ached and stung. I wasn't surprised to realize I was crying. I tried to figure out what to do. I knew I had to do something, something important. But my mind was so frazzled, rejecting what had just happened. It couldn't be possible. Edward and I were just driving when—

Edward! I whipped my head around, gasping with the pain I felt in my head. I waited a brief moment for the spinning to stop, and then I focused on the limp figure next to me. I nearly threw up at the amount of blood on his body, at the sickening angle his wrist was twisted at. I think I even passed out for a second when I saw the large slab of metal that was stabbing into his leg. Blood dripped from his hair, and I knew he probably had cuts from the demolished windshield or windows. His eyes were closed.

"Edward?" I had tried to shout, but it came out as a pathetic whisper. "Edward? Are you okay?" My voice was only a bit stronger, but Edward didn't respond. My heart pounded with panic, praying that Edward wasn't dead. My mind rejected the possibility. Surely I couldn't live through that pain. He was my life.

"Edward please!" I gasped, my voice shrill and high in panic. I leaned over to him, ignoring the stabbing pains all over my body. I reached one arm over to him, sobbing with the pain it caused me. I couldn't remember where to find his pulse. So I placed my hand lightly on his chest, trying to find a heartbeat.

And then I felt it. The small, but strong _thump, thump, thump_ that was surely his heartbeat. I could've laughed with relief. As long as Edward was alive, I could keep fighting. His eyes were shut and he seemed to be unconscious. How could I get us help? I needed someone for Edward—he looked seriously injured and I had no idea how long he could stay alive in his condition. I needed to find a way to get help, to save him, call someone.

A cell phone! Of course. I patted the pockets of my now shredded jeans and jacket, but my cell phone had disappeared. I looked over at Edward, but I realized his phone was in his pocket, on the other side of the large piece of metal stabbing his leg. I gagged upon seeing it again and turned away, unable to handle the blood. But I had to do something, find something.

A shriek left my lips when one of the headlights suddenly turned on, shedding light on the field before us. My heart fluttered in my chest, fear seizing me as I was momentarily blinded by the light. But it illuminated the scene around us. Sideways trees were all around me, and I realized that the car was tipped on its side. There were pieces of broken glass and metal everywhere, and there, in the middle of it all, was a small silver cell phone.

My breath caught in my throat. This was my chance! My chance to save Edward. It could be my only chance. I tried to ignore the multiple pains in my body as I pushed my way through the sharp edged broken window. The broken glass on the edges cut into my side and I let out a shriek as I fell to the ground, landing on the soft ground. Tears slid down my eyes as I realized I couldn't move my left leg. Broken, I'd bet money on it. It was numb though, and I was grateful. I pictured Edward's brilliant, beautiful smile in my head and it gave me strength. I wanted him to leave so I could see that smile again. _I_ wanted to live to see that smile again.

With a strength I didn't know I possessed, I began dragging myself forward, wincing as my hands and skin rolled over broken pieces of glass. I couldn't remember exactly where the phone had been, but I made my way into the center of the spotlight made by the single unbroken headlight. I kept my eyes away from the blinding light, instead keeping them on the ground, trying to avoid sharp pieces of metal and glass. I could feel hidden pieces of glass lodging themselves into my hands, but I kept moving, desperate to find the cell phone. My hands shuffled around, picking up every metal, cell phone sized object I could find. Several times they just turned out to be car parts, and I tossed them aside. And then I found it. My savior.

I thanked God that it was still on and I had service.

My fingers fumbled on the buttons as I struggled to dial 911. Each button sent pieces of glass further into my fingers. As soon as I could hear ringing, I fell to the ground, not even caring about the sharp pains of glass sticking into my back. I was too exhausted. I closed my eyes, wishing for sleep, some way to end the pain.

"911, what's your emergency?" a man's voice said from the phone. I gasped for air, trying to speak. "Hello? Are you alright?"

"Please," I choked into the phone. "M-my boyfriend and I got in a c-car accident. We need help."

"Miss, do you know where you are?" he asked importantly.

"I think so," I mumbled, naming the last sign I had seen on the highway.

"Can you tell me what happened Miss?" he asked, his voice sympathetic, while managing to stay detached.

"We were hit from the side by an SUV. We're somewhere in the w-woods now. He's unconscious," I informed him. My eyelids struggled to remain open as I fought against the pain that mercilessly stabbed at my body.

"Help is already on the way Miss, but I'll need more information," the dispatcher said.

"Okay."

"Were you the driver or passenger?"

"Passenger."

"And the driver?"

"He's p-passed out," I half sobbed. "He l-looks so bad."

"What about you miss? Where are you?"

"Outside in f-front of the car. I c-climbed out to g-get to my cell phone. I h-had to save Edward," I told him, trying to make him understand.

"I know Miss, Edward will be fine," he said soothingly, although he had no idea who Edward was. "Help is on the way. Everything will be okay."

"I hope so," I mumbled. I dropped the phone, my arm too weak to hold it up anymore. I didn't sleep—I knew sleep was the enemy right now—but I didn't move either. I wanted to go back and check on Edward but I couldn't handle the pain of a second trip. And I was also afraid…afraid of what I might find if I checked again.

I kept my eyes on the sky, barely blinking as the rain continued to pour on my body. I was chilled to the bone, but the cold helped numb the pain, so I welcomed it. It was a nice change to the throbbing, stabbing pain that was engulfing me. The numbness was so nice. So comforting. I have no idea how long I stayed like that. Long enough to be soaked the bone.

And then I heard sirens and saw flashes of red and blue. I could hear the car tires screeching to a stop and doors opening and slamming shut again. Voices shouted and I felt relief wash over me. Edward would be saved. He would be safe. I didn't care about myself. I only cared about him. Only him.

"There's the car! Bring stretches, I think only two, that's what the dispatcher said," a man's voice called loudly. I saw a flashlight and it was bright in the sudden darkness. That surprised me—I couldn't remember the headlight turning off. I heard footsteps and a dark figure loomed over me, shining the flashlight in my eyes. I blinked once.

"Definitely a concussion," he muttered to himself. "Miss, how do you feel?" He crouched down beside me and I saw him shake his head.

"Numb," I answered truthfully. "Cold."

"Hypothermia maybe?" he continued, talking to himself. "Help is on the way, honey. You'll be okay soon."

"Edward?" I gasped.

"The driver?" I nodded, unable to do much else. "I haven't looked at him. The stretchers are being brought down now, and they should be able to get him, and you, out of here."

"Keep him safe," I whispered before letting the blackness take me.

The last thing I consciously remember was asking everyone about Edward. I saw the white lights in the hospital and I could hear voices and doctors everywhere. I demanded to know where Edward was to everyone, but no one bothered listening to me. They were talking about surgeries and x-rays and stitches, too busy trying to heal me to actually fix the greatest pain of all. I needed to know. I needed to see him.

"Please," I begged a nurse. She was pressing a cloth to somewhere on my leg. I thought that was odd. I didn't even know I was bleeding. "Let me see him. I won't do anything before I see him." My voice was weak, but firm. The nurse had pity in her eyes, and sympathy. She looked a lot like my mother, and I felt comforted by her presence.

"They're taking him in now. I can't bring you to see him, but I can turn you so you'll be able to see him come in," she whispered, glancing at the doctor yelling orders to everyone around him.

"Please," I begged again. She bit her lip but whirled my stretcher around so I had a clear view to the door.

And then I saw him. He looked even worse then in the car. There was blood covering every inch of his clothing, his wrist was still sticking out at a disgusting angle, and that sharp piece of metal still stuck straight out from his leg. His eyes were closed, but I knew he was breathing and alive. If he wasn't, they wouldn't be working on him still. I watched as a doctor placed an oxygen mask on his face and another began inserting an IV.

The long, flat, beeping sound filled the room. Continuous.

"He's flat lining!" someone shouted and the EMT pulled out a defibrillator. "Clear!" he shouted, placing the flat parts to Edward's chest. His body jumped and my heart rate spiked. I could hear it on the monitor. I was watching him die. My Edward. Watching the last inches of life suck out of him as the doctor's struggled to revive him.

"Miss, this will make all the pain go away. It will help you fall asleep so you won't feel anything in surgery," a doctor said kindly as he inserted a shot into my arm. My eyes flew open. They couldn't put me to sleep yet. I had to know if Edward was okay—if they managed to revive him. I tried to fight away from him, but my movements were weak.

The effect was instantaneous. The medicine seeped into my veins and my eyes drooped shut, even as I tried my hardest to stay awake, alert. The pain began to dull from my legs and fingers and everything was feeling so much better. But I had to know—had to see him.

The last thing I heard was a shouted "Clear!" before the medicine swept me into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**Important: Edward is dead. BUT they might be able to revive him. Bella won't know his fate until she's out of surgery. And neither will any of you. It's still entirely up to me. So REVIEW!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Congrats to .twilight and Kellan-should-rule-the-world (I totally agree with your penname he's so freaking gorgeous!!) who both guessed the song last chapter.**

BPOV

_Beep…beep…beep_

What is that annoying beeping? I tried to open my eyes to see, but my eyelids were too heavy to move. I was so tired, every muscle, every joint in my body, sore and aching. I tried to open my mouth, but my jaw seemed like it was glued shut. I struggled to open my eyes, trying to locate the source of the annoying beeping sound. And something was nagging at the back of my mind, something I knew was important, but couldn't remember through the fog.

My eyes snapped open and I was assaulted by white. Bright, white fluorescent lights, white walls and chipped white ceiling. I managed to move my eyes and saw the white bed I was laying on, the white sheets and blankets, the white cast over my leg. My eyes focused on a white machine, tall and wide, with long lines across it and numbers. A heart monitor.

Oh. So that's where the noise was coming from.

But why was there a heart monitor beeping? I couldn't remember. Where was I? The only reason I would need a heart monitor is if I was in the hospital…but why could I be in the hospital? I was perfectly fine. Right?

And then it all came rushing back to me. Blinding headlights, a huge crash, the spinning darkness and lots and lots of pain, broken glass and metal. I heard my heart monitor spike and then there was a soothing hand on mine, a gentle voice soothing me to stay calm, I was fine, I was okay. But I didn't want to know about me.

"Mom?" I said weakly, recognizing the source of the voice. I moved my eyes to where the voice was coming from and saw my mother. She looked much worse then I had ever seen her, dark purple spots under her eyes, frown lines on her face, her hair tossed up into a ponytail and wearing sweatpants.

"Hey sweetie," Renee said comfortingly, a small smile on her face. "I'm so happy to see you awake. Charlie will be delighted. He's grabbing something to eat now."

"How long have I been sleeping?" I murmured groggily, my eyes drooping on their own account. I struggled to keep them open, wanting to listen to my mother. I felt like a child again—my mom taking care of me, loving me, never leaving my side. It was…comforting.

"It's been nearly a week since the accident sweetie. They had to perform surgery on your leg to realign the bones, and it took them hours and hours to get all of the glass out of your body. It was like you had rolled around in it." I didn't fill Renee in on the fact that I basically had. When I had to get the cell phone. "And you had a concussion, a very bad one. They kept you in a medically induced coma until some of the wounds healed up, so you wouldn't be in as much pain," Renee explained. My eyes widened. A week. _A week._ It seemed impossible that I had been sleeping so long. I felt like only minutes had passed; only moments since that SUV had crashed into Edward and me.

"Edward!" I gasped out loud. "Where is he? Is he okay?" My heart monitor spiked again, my breathing became hyperventilation as my body protested from the pain I was causing. Renee placed her hand on my forehead. I didn't care that I wasn't supposed to be with him, that I had lied and my mother knew. He was my only thought. Where was he? Was he alive? Was he okay?

"Shh, sweetie calm down," she said gently, but my heart continued to race, not satisfied. "He's alive dear, but only just. He was much worse then you were."

He's alive. Alive. My heart sang at the word. Never, in all my life, had one word made me so entirely happy. Edward was alive. I was alive. We could still be together. But…worse then I was? Was he in a medically induced coma as well?

"Where is he? I want to see him," I demanded instantly. The rush, the thrill of knowing Edward was alive had momentarily wiped all signs of exhaustion from my body. I knew the pain was still in my body, but I couldn't feel it.

"I…I don't think that's the best idea right now honey," Renee said tentatively, her eyes flickering up to the heart monitor again.

"Why?" I asked, disappointment flooding through my veins.

"Well…he…he's alive Bella but…he is much worse then you. He had a serious skull fracture that was pressing onto his brain, along with a huge gash in his leg. They had to…well they had to give him a really risky brain surgery and…he hasn't woken up. He's been in a…coma since the surgery. I'm so sorry, Bella." And the weird thing was, she actually sounded sorry. Sorry for the son of the family she supposedly hated. For the love of my life.

"Coma…" I repeated. It was…impossible. Incomputable. My mind couldn't accept it. A coma. My Edward. It couldn't be. It isn't possible. I looked at the door, hoping someone would run in and yell "April Fools!" and Edward would follow behind them, unscathed, grinning my favorite crooked smile. It couldn't be real.

All this time, when we were together, all I had thought about was what we would do if our parents never accepted us as a couple. Never, _never_, could I have imagined something else keeping us apart. I could've never pictured Edward hurt, sick…dying. Every time I thought about the future, he was there. Nothing would change that. Nothing could change that. But…what if Edward wasn't alive to meet our future?

A coma. Some people…well they never wake up. Some people wake up after a few hours or days, but some can take months or years…or never at all. But that couldn't happen to Edward. He would wake up. He had to. I couldn't live without him. I didn't want to. It's not…it's not possible.

I was only vaguely aware of my mother calling my name, and her shouts to get a nurse. I could hear the erratic beeping of the heart monitor, but I couldn't find the strength within me to calm down. All I kept thinking about was what I would do if I couldn't…have Edward. It was impossible. Every thought in my mind was centered around this single, perfect being, and I couldn't imagine being without him for a day, let alone the rest of my life.

"This will make her feel better," an unfamiliar voice said with forced kindness. I felt a small prick as a shot was injected into my arm, and I was reluctantly pulled into a dark, troubled sleep.

* * *

"No."

"Please, Renee. I just want to tell her—"

"I know what you want to tell her! But she doesn't need reminders right now. She had an anxiety attack last time and—"

"I know but I really want to let her know—" I was much too tired to force my eyes open. I could hear the voices fighting about me, and I could only recognize some of them. I recognized my mother's voice, the first voice I had heard. And the second voice was…slightly familiar, but I couldn't place it. And then a familiar male voice spoke up.

"Renee, I think we should let them see her. He…he obviously means a lot to her, judging by her reaction last time, and I think she should know. It's their son." I recognized my father's voice as he spoke up, his voice rough with exhaustion, but soothing and persuasive. I realized the two people standing with them must've been Edward's parents. I could hear my heart monitor spike, and I hadn't even opened my eyes yet.

"See, she's already freaking out! Bella, honey, are you awake?" I felt Renee's weight press into the side of the bed and her hand was on mine in a moment, the other hand reaching up to brush the hair away from my forehead. I barely registered her presence though. All I could think of were Edward's parents, standing somewhere in the room, wanting to talk to me.

Oh God, they were probably going to tell me it was all my fault. That I should've seen the car coming, or I shouldn't have had Edward sneak out to meet me and our friends. That I should've tried harder to get help, and to help him. That it was all my fault he was in a coma, possibly even dying. And they would be right. They would be completely right. It was entirely my fault that this had happened. Wet tears slid down my cheeks as the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It was all my fault…

"Bella you nee to calm down." Charlie's voice was firm and even. "Please honey I don't want them to have to put you out again. Please." His voice turned pleading at the end and I took a few deep breaths, reluctantly opening my eyes. I saw both of my parents standing over me, watching my heart monitor as it slowly began to calm down. But beyond them I could see Edward's parents. I recognized his mother—from the time she had called me a tramp and sent me from the house. I blushed at the memory. But Edward's father was completely unfamiliar to me. He looked a lot like Edward though, same angular nose and high cheekbones. He was very handsome, like what I pictured Edward would be when he grew up, only with green eyes and bronze hair.

"Hi Bella," Mrs. Masen said gently, and I could hear shame in her voice. "I'm sorry that we scared you like that. I really didn't mean to." Her voice was desperate for me to understand. It was so…odd. Like she actually cared what I thought about her. But I was the one who did this to her son, who she caught in bed with him and everything. I was lower then low in her eyes.

"Hi," I said weakly, warily. She gave me a half smile and took a step closer, Mr. Masen close beside her.

"I know I haven't been kind to you in the past," she began. She let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. "Actually, I was a total bitch and I was out of line. I'm really, really sorry." My eyes were wide at her words. She just called herself a bitch…and apologized to me. Why were Edward's parents apologizing to me?

"Uh…I…um," I stuttered, unsure what to say.

"It's true, you don't have to deny it," she said apologetically. "Edward," her face fell when she said his name, her voice instantly saddening, "explained everything to me afterwards and I realize now I was out of line and completely inconsiderate of your feelings. I just really wanted to apologize for that first."

First…so there was more? What else could she possible say? Oh, I'm so sorry I called you a tramp, but you killed my son and I hate you.

"Wait, when was this?" Renee asked, sounding confused.

"Don't worry about it," I said quickly and she rolled her eyes. I knew the subject wasn't dropped, but she clearly wanted to let Mr. and Mrs. Masen finish whatever they came to say, so they could spend more time with me.

"Well…I talked to the…EMT's that picked up you and Edward. And they said…they said it looked like you had climbed out of the car and into the rain and mud to get a cell phone to call for help. They said that you got a ton of your cuts and bruises from that. And…they said that if you hadn't called so quickly…Edward would've d-died." Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke and I reached over spontaneously to take her hand in mine. They were a lot like Edward's only slimmer, more feminine.

"I did what I had to," I told her. It was true. I would've easily sacrificed myself, my body, for my Edward. I would do anything for him. "To save him. His phone was in the pocket…where the metal was. And mine was in the middle of the clearing in front of us. So I opened the door and crawled out to it and called 911."

"That's so brave of you," Mr. Masen said. "I know it must have been very painful. We saw the scene of the accident and their was so much glass and sharp metal pieces." He shook his head. "I don't know how either of you survived that wreck." All four parents shuddered in unison, thinking of what might've happened.

"But it's my fault," I whimpered. "I shouldn't have had him sneak out. It's my fault."

"It isn't though Bella," Mrs. Masen said firmly, letting me know she didn't believe me in the slightest. "It's ours. We tried to keep you apart, and we should've seen that what you two have is stronger then just a crush. You wouldn't have had to sneak around in the first place if it wasn't for us. The only thing you can take the blame for is saving him. Getting him here alive, getting help to save you both. And for that, I owe you my life." I just gaped up at her. Who knew, that now, this accident, would make Edward's parents like me. And now, when we might never be together.

"How is he?" I asked weakly, a part of me not wanting to know. Mrs. Masen's eyes filled with tears and Mr. Masen wrapped his arms around her, fighting back tears himself.

"He's…alive," Mr. Masen answered, struggling to find words. "Still…out though." Still in his coma. My Edward. I couldn't bear the thought. My heart monitor spiked, but I fought to get it under control. I didn't want to go back to sleep.

"Can I see him? Please?" I begged.

"Not now dear," Mrs. Masen said apologetically, still sniffling slightly. "He's getting a procedure done on his leg right now to make sure everything is still working okay. We're not allowed in right now either. But you can see him afterwards," she promised.

"He doesn't look good though," Mr. Masen said gravely. "Very sick looking. Doesn't look like himself." He shook his head, unable to continue.

"Plus," Renee added. "You have a few guests." I turned to the door and saw Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie, all holding flowers and balloons, waiting in the doorway, eyes red and puffy but smiles on their faces.

"Surprise!" they all shouted in unison.

You bet it was.

**A/N: Next chapter will probably be Bella's friends visiting and then maybe her visiting Edward, depending on how much time her friends spend with her. REVIEW!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

BPOV

"Guys? What are you doing here?" I asked in astonishment. I was feeling much more awake in the presence of all these people. Alice was the first person in, letting the bouquet of balloons in her hands float to the ceiling. She tossed her arms around me, and I let out a groan of pain as she accidentally hit one of my bruises. She pulled away looking horrified.

"I'm so, so, so sorry," she said quickly.

"It's okay, just a bruise," I assured her, wincing as I shifted to face her.

"Bella, it's so good to see you awake. I've been visiting everyday. I'm so glad your okay," Alice burst instantly, tears in her eyes. I could tell she wanted to hug me again, but she was too afraid of hurting me.

"Aw, Alice you didn't have to. I didn't know the difference," I said, feeling guilty.

"I wanted to. Life's hard without your best friend." She frowned, watching me sadly. "But we brought you lots of things to cheer you up." She gestured to everyone else. Jasper was holding a bouquet of flowers, Emmett, a giant teddy bear and Rosalie was holding a huge card. They filed in, Emmett and Jasper staying in the background as Rosalie came over and kissed my forehead, not wanting to hurt me.

"I'm so glad you're okay Bella. We were all so worried about you," she said sincerely, and I could see her eyes rimmed with red.

"I've missed all of you," I told them truthfully. "Even if I was out of it most of the time."

"Read the card," Rosalie encouraged, handing it to me. I opened it and it instantly began belting out a Hannah Montana song. I blushed, shutting it.

"You guys got me a singing Hannah Montana card?" I half whined. Alice giggled.

"Told you she'd like it," she chirped happily. "If you open it about halfway it won't play." I did as she said, seeing all the names of my friends on the card.

_Bella—feel better soon. I love you, even though we've only been friends for a short time. 3 Ren. _I smiled, happy that Ren had signed my card, even if she couldn't come. I knew she was probably still upset about Edward, especially since he's her cousin.

_Bella—you need to heal up so you can fall and break yourself again. Feel better—Emmett._ I rolled my eyes at this one. Of course Emmett would tease me about my clumsiness.

_Feel better Bells, I love you. Parties suck without you there to complain with—Jake._

"Where is Jake?" I asked curiously, surprised he wouldn't be visiting.

"He's with Ren. She's…very upset still," Alice answered, dropping her eyes to the floor. Rosalie watched me cautiously, expecting a break down. A lump formed in my throat, and I turned back to my card, fighting back tears.

_Get well soon Bella, so Alice will stop trying to make me over. I'm already gorgeous enough without her help ;) Love you, BFF 3 Rose. _I chuckled weakly, knowing that the moment Alice lost her Bella Barbie she'd turn to Rosalie. That's just like her.

_Feel better Bella, we all miss you—Jasper._

_Bella feel better super soon! I miss my Barbie doll :p I know everything will work out well, I love you xoxo Alice. _I smiled hopefully at this one—Alice wasn't usually wrong. There were a bunch of hearts drawn on the page and names of my classmates and old friends, along with various _get well_'s and _feel better_'s. I shut the card and grinned up at my friends, touched.

"Thanks you guys. This means a lot to me," I said, choking back tears. Rosalie and Alice hugged me, being extra careful not to touch any sore spots. It was nearly impossible, but they managed well enough.

"Emmett, Jasper," I said and they both looked up at me. I could tell they were both depressed about Edward—they had been his best friend as long as Rosalie and Alice had been mine. "I'm glad you could come. I know this must be really hard." My voice cracked on the last word and I tried to clear my throat discreetly.

"I know it's hard for you too Bella," Jasper said with a knowing half smile. "You love him very much." There was no question in his voice. He knew. I nodded, afraid my voice would break if I tried to speak again.

"We'll give you all some time together," Renee said, taking Charlie, Elizabeth and Edward senior out with her. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Masen go in a different direction then my parents, but it was a start—at least they didn't hate each other as much anymore. As soon as they were gone Alice sank onto the chair next to my bed.

"What happened? Since I've been out? How did you guys find out?" I asked, knowing they would be honest, knowing my parents had probably glossed things over.

"I had this…weird feeling after you guys left. It was really freaking me out and I tried calling you guys, but I guess...it had already happened by the time I called. At around midnight your mom called, hysterical, asking if I had been with you guys and I said yes. She…she told me." Alice's voice cracked and her eyes watered up. Jasper came over and wrapped his arms around her. "No one knew how serious anything was. All we knew was that you had been in a car accident and sent rolling off into the woods. We had no clue if you were alive or d-dead." Her voice faltered and she shook her head.

"Of course we rushed here as soon as we heard," Rosalie continued, squeezing Emmett's hand. "The nurses wouldn't tell us anything since we weren't family, and your parents were with you. It was awful—not knowing if you were alive or dead or what." She shuddered delicately.

"But at around five the next morning your parents came out, saying you were in surgery and stable and that Edward was in critical condition, barely holding on. We were all freaking out, crying and panicked. We stayed until you were out of surgery and then we found out they'd be keeping you under for a few days until the pain would be less and that Edward was in brain surgery," Rosalie continued. Tears slid steadily down her cheeks. I was surprised when Jasper continued next.

"Of course we all knew Edward's surgery was risky. We stayed in the waiting room but it was nearly a six hour surgery, so most of us fell asleep. The doctor…came in and told us…that he had slipped into a coma. His mom started sobbing and just fell apart. And his dad…looked liked someone had just told him he had a week to live or something. It was all so surreal—it was hard to believe any of this could actually be happening," he said, his voice holding steady, although pain was clear on his face. I could tell Jasper wanted to be strong for Alice, even though this was just as hard on him.

"We've been coming back pretty much every day to find out how you guys were," Emmett continued. "We were all thrilled when we found out you were awake, so we gathered up as much presents and cards as we could and came to see you. And now here we are."

"Have any of you…seen Edward?" I half whispered. Part of me didn't even want to know. I didn't want to see him so hurt, or weak.

"I did," Jasper answered, and his face looked horrified. "He looks…nothing like himself. They had to shave most of his head for the surgery and he has so many scars and cuts and bruises. It's…hard to believe anyone could live like that." Jasper looked completely shaken up, and I didn't know if I even wanted to see Edward now. Could I handle it? Could I take seeing my Edward, crumpled and broken, never knowing if he'd wake up again?

But I had to. I knew that. Because…if he ever…died—well, I wanted to see him at least one more time. Tell him how sorry I was, how I wish it had been me instead of him that was so hurt. To tell him that if he went, I would follow him as soon as I could. I would always be there for him. I had to be. Maybe we would truly be like Romeo and Juliet—early graves, dying with the one you love. It seemed a noble way to go. Understandable.

"I want to see him," I said firmly. "Now."

"I don't know if you can Bella," Alice said tentatively. "You're hooked up to a lot of stuff right now and—"

"I don't care. I _need_ to see him." My voice was frantic and my heart monitor beeped erratically.

"Calm down Bella," Jasper said, placing his hand on my shoulder. I instantly relaxed, my heart beat slowing back to normal. "We'll get you in." I glanced up at him, wide eyed. Out of everyone, I had expected Jasper to be the one who least wanted me to see Edward. After all, he had gone through the pain of seeing him already. Jasper answered my unspoken question. "If it was Alice, I'd want to see her too."

Our eyes met, and at that moment, I completely understood Jasper, and he understood me. Jasper knew that I needed to do this, because he felt the same kind of love I felt for Edward for Alice. He gave me an understanding smile and my lip quivered, but I managed a tiny smile back, nodding once, letting him know I understood.

"Let's get her out of here," he said, turning back to Alice. Alice still looked unsure, but Emmett came over to help lift me out of the bed and into a wheelchair that had been conveniently placed outside of the room. My whole body ached as Emmett moved me, but I kept my mouth shut and any traces of pain off of my face. I knew they wouldn't let me see him if they knew I was hurting. So I kept my mouth shut and dealt with it as Emmett placed me gently into the wheelchair, every muscle, bone and joint in my body screaming in protest. I let out a sigh of relief once I was sitting, much more comfortable. They moved the IV to the pole on the wheelchair and started wheeling me out of the room. Jasper was pushing me since he knew the way, but everyone else came along. Jasper led me to the ICU and paused outside of a door.

"Listen Bella, are you absolutely sure about this? He doesn't look anything like Edward. It's…very painful to see him like this," Jasper said, the ghost of horror in his eyes. I nodded. I would take any pain, as long as I could see him. I deserved the pain. Jasper nodded back pushing me into the room. I noticed he kept his eyes averted from the bed and I kept my eyes on my lap. I wanted to wait until Jasper was out of the room before I looked up—I didn't want to break down in front of him. "We'll be right outside if you need us Bella." He squeezed my hand gently and I waited until I heard the door click shut before slowly lifting my eyes to Edward.

An anguished sob left my mouth the moment I laid my eyes on him.

It was Edward—that much I could tell. But it looked…he looked so different. So much of his wonderful bronze hair was shaved off, a large scar in its place. His body and face were swollen with bruising, scarring and stitches. I could see where his leg was stitched up and there was also a large bandage on his hip that I couldn't figure out. I hadn't remembered his hip being hurt when we were in the car.

He looked so broken, so weak. For all the time I knew Edward, I had never seen him as anything but the strong, brave man I love. And now—now he looked so vulnerable, so weak and fragile. There were tubes going into his throat and nose, more wires then I could count attached to his body. I could hear the steady breathing of the machine that was just barely keeping him alive. My shoulders shook with sobs and I buried my face in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh Edward," I choked. I placed my hands on the bar around his bed, letting my tears fall freely. "Edward I'm s-s-so sorry. It's a-all my f-fault. I l-l-l-love you s-s-so much. F-forever. I l-love you." I broke into sobs then, unable to gain control of myself.

I felt hopeless. I felt weak and powerless and useless. I wanted to help Edward, I wanted to make every part of him feel better, feel perfect again. I wanted to go back in time and leave Jasper's ten minutes later, and everything could have been avoided. I wanted to do something, anything to help Edward, to save him.

But there was nothing I could do. It was up to fate, and the heavens now. I was powerless, weak. Useless.

_A/N: Sad :( I feel so bad for Edward and Bella. REVIEW please. I don't like this chapter too much but I think the next one should be better, writing wise at least._


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

BPOV

_Two weeks later…_

Time passed. Minutes turned to hours, turned to days, turned to weeks. Slowly but surely, time went on. Every second ticked by, every minute slowly dragged on, every day felt like an eternity. My wounds began healing, bruises turning yellow, purple, blue, before finally fading, disappearing. Cuts began to scab over, heal, stitches were removed. Alice and Rosalie, and sometimes Jasper and Emmett, visited every day.

Edward did not wake up.

He didn't get worse. But he didn't get better, either. I visited him often, whenever I could. His hair was beginning to grow back, just a little bronze fuzz on the top of his head. The swelling in his face went down a bit, and I could recognize my Edward now. He looked like himself, only sleeping and with less hair. It still broke my heart to see him, but he was more familiar now. I'd often find myself holding his hand and talking to him, filling him in on my life at the hospital.

I climbed into my wheelchair and began wheeling myself towards the ICU. I wanted to see him. I visited him every day once visiting hours were over, mostly to avoid his parents. I hated seeing his parents…they were fine, nice. They didn't hate me anymore, not after I had gotten help so quickly for their son. And I think they take some of the blame for not letting us see each other as well. But I couldn't stand the look in his mother's eyes. The…the complete pain, the totally crushed heart. It reminded me of myself, and I couldn't bear it. I waited until they left to visit, just so I could be alone with him. My love

I pushed open the door to the familiar room and pulled myself in, shutting the door behind me. I knew most doctors and nurses disapproved of my visiting habits, but they mostly seemed to understand. I think one nurse heard me talking to him, and she was sympathetic. She told the others to lay off. I rolled myself to his bed and took his hand in mine. His was limp, my hand doing all the work to keep our fingers interlaced.

"Hey there," I whispered softly. Edward's face didn't change, although sometimes I was sure he was listening. I leaned down and softly pressed my lips to the side of his forehead—one of the only places without bruising or scarring. I rubbed my thumb along the back of his hand. "I miss you."

Again, his face didn't change, but I thought I saw his eyelids flicker. It happened often—coma patients eyes often opened, or their bodies twitched. The first time I had seen his eyes open nearly killed me. My heart raced, pounded and I thought he was waking up. But he didn't respond to my voice, his eyes shut and I sobbed. A nurse later explained to me more about coma patients, but it didn't lessen the pain.

"Alice came with Jasper today," I said gently, quietly. I never spoke in more then a whisper. "I can tell Jasper misses you too. He wants you to wake up, nearly as badly as I do. I can see the pain in his eyes when we talk about you, although he tries to hide it from Alice. To protect her. They're really in love you know. A lot like us." My voice cracked and I furiously wiped away a tear.

"Alice is being so good to me. She sneaks me in junk food so I don't have to deal with all the yucky hospital food. She's even brought me a ton of my old sweats so I could be more comfortable in my own clothes. She's such an amazing friend." Alice had truly been so good to me these past few weeks, always taking care of me and helping me. I didn't feel comfortable with the nurses' sponge bathing me, so Alice helped me in and out of the shower.

"I've only seen Ren once." I winced, remembering the dead look on her face. She was so crushed. Edward was like her older brother, her protector. Someone she thought she'd never have to see hurt or sick. She visited me for a few minutes before seeing him but was too upset to see me again afterwards. "She misses you. You know, I bet she wouldn't be so sad if you woke up. Hint, hint." Edward remained unresponsive and I sighed, fighting back tears. I rested my arms on the edge of the bed, my eyes drooping shut, tears sliding out from underneath my closed eyelids.

"You have to wake up Edward," I whimpered, sobbing into my arms. "I miss you. I need you. I can't live without you Edward, I can't! You n-need to wake up."

I don't know how long I stayed like that, sobbing and crying. All I know is that night eventually faded into morning and the sun was shining through the curtains when I opened my eyes. The window blinds were open, although I couldn't remember leaving them that way. My arms and neck were stiff from sleeping at such an odd angle. And I wasn't alone in the room.

I nearly let out a scream when I spotted a figure in the chair in the corner, until I realized it was only Elizabeth Masen, teary-eyed and looking dead on her feet. I shot up in my wheelchair, feeling a stabbing pain as one of my longer lasting cuts banged into the back of the wheelchair. I turned to look at look at Edward—he looked just the same as last night, heart still beating, chest still moving with every breath of the ventilator.

"Sorry," I said after a moment, forcing my eyes away from Edward to his mother. "I must have fallen asleep."

"It's fine," she said, smiling sadly. "I imagined you wanted to spend as much time with him as you can before…well, before tonight." Her voice cracked and a few tears slid down her cheeks as she shook her head.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously. "What's tonight?" Elizabeth looked startled. She blinked twice, staring at me.

"You mean…you don't know?" she whispered, her voice rough with pain.

"Know what?" I demanded. I could feel my heart rate spiking, my blood pressure rising with anxiety and nerves. Did I even want to know?

"Well…Edward and I…Edward Sr. I mean…have decided it would be best to." She paused choking back a sob. "Pull the plug."

The world shook. My mind spun, whirled, trying to figure out the meanings of those horrible three words. I couldn't imagine a world where Edward simply…didn't exist. My breath came in gasps as tears stung my eyes. I wanted a release from the pain, any release. Death would've been welcomed with open arms at this point. I wanted to die. I wanted to be dead.

"No!" I shouted. "No you can't!" Elizabeth looked alarmed as her body shook with tears.

"I'm s-s-sorry! We have t-t-to, he w-wouldn't want to l-l-live this way," she choked and I instantly felt guilty. This was his mother; she had to make the choice. She must feel just as awfully as I do. I took a deep breath, trying to control my urge to shout and throw things.

"But…but…he can still wake up," I said hysterically, my voice an octave higher in my panic. The only thing on my mind was persuading Elizabeth Masen to keep my Edward alive. She can't have all my work, all my pain go to waste. He couldn't…die. He was living, he was there. They couldn't kill him. "You can't do this! He'll wake up, I know he will!"

"Bella," Elizabeth began shakily. I could tell she was feeling her own pain, as well as mine. She understood how hard this was on me. But at least she had the choice. My only choice was to lose him. Lose him and die. There were no other options. "He would hate this. Living off machines, barely there. He would rather be dead."

"How do you know? Have you ever asked him?" I snapped. I half tossed myself onto his bed, my upper body reaching out to him. I sobbed onto his chest, my fingers moving across his face, tracing the shape, the fuzz on his head. "Don't go Edward. You need to wake up, you have to."

"Bella…I know this is hard, but we've made our decision. It's a tough one, but it's what we must do," Elizabeth said, her voice determined. "The doctor's say there's only a small chance he'll wake up."

"There's still a chance," I choked. "He'll wake up, he will! He has to." I buried my face into Edward's side, breathing in his scent. The smell of medicine, sickness and hospital was all over him, but I could still detect the smallest hint of the delicious scent I loved. I didn't hear Elizabeth calling to me; I didn't hear her calling to the nurse when I didn't respond. I barely even noticed as the nurse came in, holding a needle in her hand.

"Isabella you need to calm down," the nurse said slowly. "Please, this isn't healthy. You could be doing some real damage to your ribs, lungs and heart right now. Your body can't handle this stress. I'm going to take you back to your room and—"

"No!" I shrieked, shooting up. "I'm not leaving him, I won't! If you even try to give me that shot I swear I'll rip your hair out!" I knew I was being ridiculous, but the nurse seemed to take my threat seriously. She took a few steps back.

"What do we do?" Elizabeth murmured to the nurse.

"Let her stay with him," the nurse answered. "For now. Once we pull the plug, we'll give her the shot and send her back to her room. It'll be easier for her to handle the pain that way."

I was glad they were going to leave me. I wouldn't have gone anyways, and I didn't really feel like breaking anything right now. Especially not in Edward's room. And since I'm not strong enough to fight, I'd have to throw stuff at her. I shook my head, chasing the thoughts away, filling my mind of Edward instead.

I remembered the second night he came to my house. It was two days after the ball my parents had thrown. We had kissed and talked in the garden until dawn, and when he walked me back to the house, I was crying on the staircase, begging him not to go. I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me, even then. It seemed so long ago now. A whole different lifetime, a happier one.

"Don't leave me Edward," I whispered brokenly. I didn't know who was in the room, if anyone at all. I felt completely and utterly alone. "You can't. I love you too much. I can't live without you. I won't. Wake up Edward. Don't let them kill you."

Edward remained as unresponsive as ever.

I sobbed and sobbed. I felt like all the moisture left my body. I refused to leave the room, even for a second. I couldn't. I wouldn't. At some point, my friends joined me. Everyone was crying—Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Ren and even Jacob. Everyone was crying. Everyone knew. They sat with me, Alice rubbing my back comfortingly, trying to choke back her own tears. I had never seen strong, tough Emmett cry before. It was heart breaking. I didn't speak to them, and they only spoke in low murmurs if they had to. Ren was sobbing into Jacob's chest, completely overcome with emotions. She didn't know what to do. Neither did I.

No one left. We all wanted to be there…up until his last moments alive. I wanted to be there when his heart stopped beating. I wanted to see him one last time before finding a way to take myself out of this world. It wouldn't be too hard. After all, they kept scalpels and all sorts of other tools at a hospital, not to mention countless drugs. I could manage, somehow. I would have to. I wouldn't live without him.

Edward's parents were there as well, watching wordlessly. They were always touching in some way, holding hands or their knees brushing as they sat. I wished I could have that kind of comfort—the comfort of having the one you love with you. But I didn't. Instead, I had to watch as the one I loved die. None of the nurses or doctors protested about having us all in there, even though there were only supposed to be three at a time. They knew we were spending all the time we could with him. Up until the end.

"Mr. and Mrs. Masen." Everyone looked up as the doctor stepped into the room. His face was an emotionless mask as he prepared for what he had to do. My heartbeat quickened. My time couldn't be over, not yet. It was too soon, much too soon. I needed him longer, alive longer. They couldn't, not now, not ever. It couldn't be real.

"Doctor," Mr. Masen responded.

"I'm very sorry you had to make this choice," the doctor said apologetically. "I know it must be very difficult on all of you." His eyes flickered from Edward's parents, to me, to my friends gathered around us. Everyone was sobbing; every face was tear-streaked. I could barely breathe. I didn't know what to do, what to say, but I had to do something to stop this. They couldn't kill him—I wouldn't let them.

"Edward," I whimpered, clutching myself closer to him. I grasped his hand in my own, squeezing it, trying to force him awake. "Please wake up Edward. Please. Don't let them kill you, don't let them." My voice cracked, shook and broke on nearly every word. I didn't care about the audience in front of me, Edward's parents, the doctor, my friends. I was entirely focused on Edward. He had to wake up. They couldn't kill him.

"Bella," Alice whispered from behind me.

"Edward, come on. Don't let them kill you, don't," I choked. I kept his hand clutched in mine, never letting go. Mr. and Mrs. Masen stepped towards the machine with the doctor, getting ready. The doctor's eyes were filled with pity. Mr. and Mrs. Masen seemed oblivious as they stared down at their son, at his last living moment. "Wake up Edward, you have to. If you love me, you'll wake up. Wake up." Tears slid down my face. It was over. I knew it. He wasn't waking up.

I tossed myself half onto him, sobbing against his chest. I could feel the steady rise and fall, feel the soft beating against my cheek. I waited for it to fade away, still holding his hand in mine. My body shook, my pained cries the only noise in the room besides the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

I gripped Edward's hand in mine, pulling it to my heart. Willing, praying, believing.

His fingers tightened around mine, squeezing back, in a gentle, feeble motion.

"Wait!" I shouted, shooting up. I stared in disbelief. That didn't happen. That wasn't supposed to happen—coma patients couldn't squeeze. They could twitch, their eyes could open, but they couldn't squeeze. "He moved, he just moved!"

"Coma patients often have muscle spasms—" the doctor began but I quickly cut him off.

"No, no! His hand squeezed mine, I swear it did!" I shouted, desperate for them to believe me. It was true, it was! They couldn't kill him, he was awake, he would be okay, they just couldn't kill him!

"Bella, it's not possible," Alice said softly, gently, her voice sad and pitying. "You probably just imagined it."

"No I didn't!" I shrieked hysterically. They had to believe me, if they didn't, they'd kill him. "You feel, you tell them!" I placed Edward's hand in hers. "Do it again Edward, show her, show her like you did to me, go on."

Silence filled the room. Nothing moved. Everyone was frozen, immobilized.

Alice let out a gasp.

"He squeezed my hand," she said in disbelief.

"It couldn't be," the doctor said. He took Edward's other hand in his and waited. His eyes widened and he took a step back, shaking his head. "It's not possible. He…can't be waking up."

"He is," I said, almost hysterical. I could feel joy and hope pounding through my veins, but I tried to quell them, just in case. "Edward, I love you. I love you so much."

At my words, Edward's eyelids fluttered open and a pair of bright green eyes met my gaze. Eyes so full of emotion—of love, pain, hope—that they had to be living.

Edward was back.

**A/N: I'm so happy I could sing! But I won't because I'm an awful singer. I told you I had a happy ending. Maybe one more chapter and then the epilogue? No sequel though. And I bet you all thought I was going to kill him off. I seriously debated it, but the epilogue is too romantic for me not to do, plus I have a totally gorgeous dress picked out for Bella. REVIEW!!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**A/N: Sorry this took me forever! You know how things can get around the holidays. I hope this update is worth it, and at least I didn't leave you with a bad cliffhanger this time.**

**BPOV**

"Edward?" Mrs. Masen said softly, her voice filled with disbelief. Edward's eyes stayed locked in my own and I could see the questions in his eyes, the pain, hurt and confusion. His eyes turning curious at the sound of his mother's voice, but he didn't look away. I was trapped in his gaze and I felt almost as if I couldn't breathe—happiness was radiating out of every pore in my body, and I couldn't believe that Edward, my Edward, was awake at last.

"Edward, are you really awake?" Mrs. Masen came closer and took Edward's free hand. His eyes reluctantly broke away from mine and we both turned to look at his mother. She had tears in her eyes when they looked at each other, and I could tell she was fighting back the urge to throw herself at him—I know I was.

Edward opened his mouth, clearly trying to speak, but all that came out was a sort of grunt. I knew it was probably hard for him to talk with the breathing tube still in his throat, not to mention the lack of use. Elizabeth and I made identical shushing noises, trying to soothe him and keep him quiet.

"You're okay Edward, you don't have to talk," I said gently. Edward turned to look at me again, his eyes sparkling with unspoken words. I could tell that he wanted to speak with us, to ask questions, to give answers, but it was impossible for him to do. I shushed him quietly again, never letting go of his hand. He squeezed my fingers again, weakly, and I squeezed right back.

Mr. and Mrs. Masen were huddled on Edward's other side and I rolled my wheelchair to the top of the bed. Edward's eyes followed me and I noticed the pain—not pain for himself, but for me, because I was in a wheelchair. He was so selfless it was slightly ridiculous.

"I'm okay," I promised him in a gentle whisper, leaning close to him so only he could hear me. Emmett and Jasper had moved to his side, both of them shocked at seeing him alive. Ren was holding his hand, tears streaming down her cheeks. I kept one of his hands in mine, unwilling to let him go. "I broke my leg, pretty badly. That's why I have the wheelchair. And I got a concussion, but it's all better now. I had lots of cuts and bruises, but most of them are gone as well." Edward's eyes filled with guilt and he struggled to speak again.

"Shh," I said again, placing one of my fingers on his lips. It was like it was only him and I in the room, even though I could hear the others crying happy tears and talking about miracles. "It's not your fault. Not at all. I love you." Edward squeezed my hand again, and I could tell he was saying he loved me too. I smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead as gently as possible, before leaning back up and letting Edward's family gain his attention.

"Oh Edward we were so scared," Ren gushed instantly. "We thought we were going to lose you! You've been asleep for almost a month and none of us knew if you would be okay." She burst into sobs then, half tossing herself onto him as she cried happily into his chest. It took her a few minutes to gather herself. "I'm j-j-just so h-happy y-you're a-alive!"

I could see Edward's fingers tighten around hers, trying to comfort her without words. Ren continued to sob, seeming unable to stem her flow of tears. Jacob wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, allowing her to cry onto his shirt as he whispered in her ear. Jasper took the spot next to him and held his hand—I thought this was sweet.

"Hey man," Jasper said with a sort of disbelieving smirk on his face. His eyes were rimmed with red and all puffy and Emmett had tears in his eyes, which was almost humorous to see. "We've missed you." Jasper didn't need to say much else. I could tell that years of friendship, almost brotherhood, had given Edward and Jasper a connection that didn't need words. Edward understood what Jasper was trying to convey, and Jasper understood the emotions Edward was feeling. They truly were best friends.

"Yeah you scared us pretty badly," Emmett agreed, smiling. He had one arm wrapped around Rosalie, and the other went to Edward's arm, which he squeezed gently, comfortingly. "We all thought you were a goner." He shuddered lightly and shook his head. Edward looked so frustrated at being unable to speak. I could tell he wanted to rip the tube out of his throat and just talk, but I knew he probably wasn't ready for that yet.

"Edward, my baby," Mrs. Masen said, leaning down to kiss her son's forehead. "I'm so sorry. For everything. For not taking better care of you and for being mean to Bella and for not letting you two be together. I can see now how wrong I was. I know she loves you and you love her, and I understand that now. I'm so sorry, sweetie." Tears fell from her cheeks and Edward shook his head—not in denial, not saying he didn't believe her. No, he was shaking his head, telling her he didn't blame her in the slightest. She smiled.

"Always so forgiving," she sighed, wiping away her tears. Mr. Masen moved closer to his son, and their eyes met.

"It's good to have you back, son," he said gruffly, his voice thick with emotion. Edward nodded gently at this, his eyelids drooping slightly.

"Sleepy?" I asked, speaking up again. Edward's eyes swiveled towards mine. I could see the exhaustion, but I knew he was trying to fight it. He didn't want to sleep again; he wanted to be with us, to stay awake for us. "Don't worry, love. You can sleep. We'll be right here when you wake up. After all, I'm only staying a few halls away." I smiled at him and his eyelids drooped again, but he struggled to keep them open.

He reached for my hand and I took it, letting my fingers wrap around his gingerly. I was surprised and slightly hurt when he pulled his hand away. But then his finger was on my hand, tracing a shape. It started with a curve, ending in a point, and rising, curving up again. And then I realized what it was—a heart.

"I love you too," I whispered. Edward's eyes were satisfied. And then they slowly drifted shut, allowing him to fall asleep peacefully.

"I can't believe he's awake," the doctor said after he fell back asleep. "It was so unlikely! Impossible almost!"

"Nothing's impossible," I told him in a whisper as I stared down at the face of the man that I loved.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because when I woke up, I found a pair of beautiful green eyes staring down at me.

"Hey there," I said softly. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and yawned. I was surprised the doctors hadn't forced me back to my room yet. I assumed they were letting me spend some time with Edward before they forcibly removed me from the room.

Edward tried to speak again, but only a sort of grunting sound came out. He sighed and rolled his eyes, frustration clear in his expression. I could tell the lack of communication was angering him to no end—he wanted to ask questions and talk and just be with us—but he couldn't due to the tube in his mouth.

"It's okay, you don't need to talk. Just remember everything you want to say and save it for when they remove the tube," I said simply, giving him a small smile. Edward rolled his eyes and gave me a look that clearly said he thought my plan was ridiculous. I giggled lightly at the look on his face and his face softened—he had missed the sound of my laugh. I melted at the thought. How could I possibly end up with someone so perfect?

I looked around the room and quickly realized we were alone. It must have been past visiting hours, because I couldn't imagine everyone leaving otherwise. And now that I thought of it, there was no light trying to peek through the curtains. I leaned down to press my lips to Edward's forehead, but he shifted slightly, angling himself so I hit his nose instead. I giggled, realizing what he wanted. I leaned down for another kiss, but this time, I aimed for his lips. They were just as soft and smooth as I remembered, and Edward was kissing me back, feebly, but with as much strength as he probably had at the moment.

When I pulled away, there was smile in his eyes, and my heart was beating erratically. It had been so long since I had kissed those lips—I had almost forgotten what they felt like, the way they moved against mine, the soft and gentle way our lips caressed. It was magical and beautiful and felt just right. I had a contented smile on my face as I reached up and ran my fingers through the small fuzz on Edward's head.

"They shaved part of your head you know," I said conversationally. Edward's eyes widened and he looked positively alarmed. It was then that I realized Edward had no idea the extent of his injuries—he only knew what he could feel and what he remembered. And with the head trauma, it was doubtful he remembered much in the first place.

"Oh Edward," I gasped suddenly, my voice laden with pity and sympathy. "Do you have any idea what happened to you? Did anyone tell you?" Edward shook his head, moving it slightly to the left, then to the right. His eyes stayed wide.

"Oh tits," I said, biting my lip. "Well…do you remember the accident? Do you remember the SUV and how it hit us?" He nodded slightly. He still looked pretty shaken and confused, but he didn't seem to be panicking, or going into shock, which was good. "Do you remember anything after that?" He shook his head. I sighed.

"Well...the other driver hit us and we went rolling and tumbling into a ravine in the side of the road. I…" I trailed off for a moment. I didn't want to tell Edward how I had crawled out of the car and through the glass showered grass to get a cell phone—I knew he would feel guilty about it and that he would blame himself. I didn't want him to do that, so I edited a bit. "Well, you were unconscious, so I grabbed my cell phone and called 911. The ambulance came and took both of us. You nearly died and I had no idea what was happening because we were both going into surgeries." I shuddered at the memory. The worst was not knowing if Edward was dead or alive, especially when he was so close to me.

"Basically, you went straight into brain surgery." Edward's eyes widened even more at this. They darted upwards, as if he was trying to look at his head. "That's why some of your hair is gone. It was risky and that's when…when you went into your coma." My voice broke on the last word and I cleared my throat. Edward squeezed my fingers lightly, trying to comfort me again. I smiled—even when he was the one hearing bad news, it was me he was worried about.

"You were out for three weeks. I was out for one of them, since I had to get some surgeries on my leg, and I had a lot of glass and stuff in my body from—from the windshield and stuff." I nearly fumbled over my explanation—someday I would tell him, but not yet. Not right now. "I've been visiting you every day. We had no idea what was going to happen to you. Nothing seemed to be getting better." I shook my head and cleared my throat again.

"Eventually, the doctors decided you weren't going to wake up—they said it wouldn't be possible. So…so your parents were going to…to pull the plug." I watched Edward's reaction carefully at this, not wanting to upset him. He didn't look troubled though. I think his mother was right in her decision—if Edward was truly on his deathbed, he wouldn't want to be left alive by machinery and medicine. That wasn't a life. "But you woke up right before it was going to happen. A miracle," I concluded with a smile.

Edward was silent. His eyes were still wide and he seemed to be trying to process all of the information I had given him. Every once in a while, emotion would flicker in his eyes, ranging from confusion to fury to sadness. But eventually, his eyes settled once again on me and he nodded once, thanking me.

"You deserve to know," I said simply. Edward glanced around for a moment and I saw his eyes focus on something on the dresser next to him. He looked at it meaningfully, then looked at me, before turning to look at the object once more. I looked over at it—it was a mirror. I realized what he wanted.

"You want to see yourself?" I asked gently and he nodded instantly, seeming pleased that I had understood. I took a deep breath and grabbed the mirror, holding it in my hands so Edward wouldn't be able to see himself just yet. "Just be warned okay…you don't really look like yourself. Your face is still a little swollen and some of your hair is gone, but it's growing in very nicely. Are you sure you're ready?" Edward nodded again. "Okay." I lifted up the mirror and held it in front of his face for him to see.

I watched his reaction carefully. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief, and anger and depression flitted in his eyes. I watched carefully as his eyes travelled to the stitches on one of his cheeks, and the scars on his chin. His eyes seemed to impossibly widen more as he took in the large scar and growing fuzz on his scalp. But he seemed to be taking everything reasonably well, considering the changes.

"You look much better now," I told him. "You were a lot worse in the beginning." Edward's eyebrows raised, as if wondering how he could possibly look worse than he did now. "But I don't care. I love you. No matter if you have scars and cuts, or if you're old, bald and fat. I'll always love you," I promised him.

Edward smiled and took his gaze away from the mirror. I laid it gently on the bedside table again. Edward took my fingers in his and gently traced another heart in the center of my palm.

**A/N: I know this seems short, but it's actually like 2500 words. I think there's going to be 1-2 more chapters and then the epilogue. REVIEW!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**A/N: Hey guys! I made a video on Youtube, it's a tribute to Taylor Swift, and my penname is ILoveWicked1505 (it was before I read Twilight) and I'm really proud of the video, it's to her song "You Belong With Me" and I worked really hard on it, so I'd appreciate it if anyone would watch it, rate it, comment it or anything, there's a link in my profile. Thanks guys, I love you!**

**BPOV**

_Two weeks later…_

"Wake up, love." I groaned, turning my head away from the noise. I just wanted a few more minutes. I was sleeping so peacefully. "Come on Bella, time to wake up." I felt soft lips on my forehead and I lazily opened my eyes, grinning when I saw the sparkling green ones I loved staring back at me.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Edward teased lightly as I came to. I giggled lightly and yawned, sitting myself up in his hospital bed. I stared at him for a moment, wanting nothing more than to kiss him.

The difference between Edward now, and Edward a month ago was shocking.

His hair was growing back, and he had cut the other side too, so it was even. It wasn't too long, but in another few weeks it would be back its original length. Almost all of his cuts and bruises had healed—only the ones that had needed stitches were still there, and they were mostly faded to scars. Most of the tubes and wires had been removed after a while—the breathing tube was the first to go, and Edward was ecstatic to be able to speak again. Basically, all they left was his IV, so they could still give him medicine.

He was so much more energetic as well. When he first woke up, he would normally only be able to stay up for an hour, tops, but now he was staying up for most of the day. He was slowly regaining his appetite, although the nasty hospital food wasn't helping him any. I tried to sneak him in pizza and burgers once in a while, but only enough so that it wouldn't affect his cholesterol or blood sugar readings.

I had been discharged shortly after Edward woke up, once the doctors were confident my cuts and bruises and stitches wouldn't get infected, and that my leg and concussion were healing properly. Although I spent so much time at the hospital with Edward it didn't really feel like I had left at all. I mostly only went home to sleep, sometimes for meals or lunch with the girls before we'd come back and visit Edward again.

Edward barely remembered anything about the accident. He said he could remember the car coming at us, but everything went blank after that. He vaguely remembered a few things, like getting lifted by the EMT's. And though he doesn't talk about it much, I can tell he remembers the pain. Every time we mention the accident, he sort of flinches and grimaces, remembering the pain of that day. He doesn't like to show his weakness though.

"You sure you're awake, love?" Edward asked, chuckling lightly. I blushed, realizing I had zoned out.

"Yeah sorry," I said, fighting back a yawn. I had come in early this morning, at about seven, and promptly crawled into Edward's hospital bed and fallen asleep in his arms. The bed wasn't very comfortable, and it definitely wasn't made for two people, but I felt safe and warm in Edward's arms, and that made up for it. Edward certainly didn't seem to mind holding me either.

"Were you up late last night? You were pretty much down for the count since you got here." He smiled as he spoke, letting me know he didn't mind. I assumed that he, like me, just liked being together.

"A little, I guess. Alice took me out to dinner with Rose and then we all went back to Alice's house for a while. I didn't get to bed till…midnight, maybe one." I shrugged, not really remembering. I had been tired enough that I basically just passed out when I got home and only woke up when my alarm clock blared at 6:30.

"You didn't need to come so early, you could've slept in," Edward said, and I noticed his voice sounded a bit guilty and sad.

"I wanted to," I assured him, turning to place a chaste kiss on his lips. He smiled against my lips and pulled me closer, allowing me to cuddle into the crook of his arm. It was very comfortable.

The walls of Edward's room were all decorated with the cards he had gotten from his many friends and classmates from school, not to mention relatives and other friends. Looking at his walls sometimes hurt, there were so many colors, words of encouragement and get well cards. There was a huge one from Alice and Rosalie, another one from Jasper and Emmett one from Ren and one from Jacob that were all hanging on the wall nearest Edward, so he could look at them whenever he wanted. My card was kept on Edward's nightstand, where he could reach it, whenever he wanted. It was just a simple, plain card, with the words _I love you—Bella _scribbled on the inside, but he loved it anyways. That was one of the things I loved about Edward—he liked the simple things more than the expensive, luxury crap.

"The doctor that came in yesterday said I'll probably be getting out soon," Edward said eagerly, sounding almost like a child. I beamed.

"Really? That's awesome!" I half squealed, wrapping my arms around him again and pressing another, less chaste kiss on his lips. He laughed exultantly against me before pulling away to look in my eyes again.

"Of course, I still won't be able to walk, I'll probably still be on crutches, if not a wheelchair," he said, almost warningly.

"Join the club," I said, gesturing to my crutches, which were leaning against the wall next to the bed. Crutches proved to be a…challenge for me. When I wasn't slipping, I was sending myself flying into walls or various other pieces of furniture. I had taken to just hopping around, preferring that over the deathtrap of crutches.

"And I'll still have to come in for appointments all the time to make sure my head is still okay," he continued.

"We can get someone to drive us both," I said simply, considering I came in for appointments every week, at the least, always checking my leg and my cuts and blah, blah, blah.

"And I'll be on all sorts of medicine. I won't be able to do much anymore, not for a while," he said, and I noticed his eyes flash to mine as he spoke, watching my reaction.

"Neither can I. We can just chill at someone's house and watch a movie. It doesn't matter to me," I said strongly. I was starting to see where he was going with all of this, and I didn't want him to think that.

"You won't get bored with me?" he asked finally, cutting the pretences. "I'll be useless. We won't be able to do anything." He frowned as he spoke, not meeting my eye. I leaned my head forward, rearranging myself so that I was looking at him.

"Edward," I said softly, gently, but still passionately. "I love you. I wouldn't care if we went out to Paris, Milan and London every night, or just watched TV in my basement. It doesn't matter to me. As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy." My voice had the seal of a promise.

Edward stared at me for a moment, looking for any traces of hesitation in my eyes. All he found was love and promise. He smiled, that adorable crooked smile, the left side of his mouth lifting up, just a bit.

"You're perfect, you know that?" he said softly, his voice filled with loving wonder.

"Not nearly as perfect as you," I replied, leaning forward to press a kiss on his lips. I let my tongue slide out of my mouth and our tongues intertwined. His fingers reached into my hair, pulling my closer so that I was nearly on top of him. I tried to keep my weight off of my leg, and watch out for his injuries, but it was proving difficult once I started getting dizzy from the kiss. I pulled away, gasping for air, plopping back onto my side of the bed.

We were both quiet for a moment, listening to the sounds of our breathing slow, and our heartbeats. Edward's was much more audible though, since he was still attached to the heart monitor, and I was pleased I had such an effect on him. At least I wasn't the only one who swooned in this relationship.

"Hey Bella," Edward said absentmindedly after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"I've been trying to remember more of the accident," he said, his voice a determined casual. I turned to look at him, but he was staring at the TV across from us. I watched his profile as he continued to speak, trying not to get distracted by his perfect features, or the slight stubble on his cheeks. "But it's hard. Although some things have been coming back to me."

"Well that's…good or bad, depending on how you look at it," I said truthfully after a brief pause.

"It's a little of both. I want to know what happened, but whenever I remember anything, it just makes me angry or sad." He sighed, frowning again. He turned to look at me and I met his eyes, trying to soothe him without words.

"What do you remember?" I asked curiously.

"Well…" he began hesitantly, and I could tell he was wracking his brain, trying to recall the memories. "I remember waking up…at some point. My head was pounding and I couldn't feel my leg." He was speaking slowly and deliberately, frowning in concentration as he spoke. "I couldn't really move much either. It hurt to move my head and everything was fuzzy…" He paused, a distant look in his eye. I couldn't tell if he was reliving what he remembered, or if he was just trying to remember what happened next.

"Okay, I know this is going to sound stupid, but just hear me out," Edward began, pulling himself out of his thoughts and turning to look at me. I nodded instantly, knowing I wouldn't judge him no matter what he said. "Well…when I woke up I was feeling so tired and sick and weak. And I honestly thought I was going to die. Or was dying."

Okay, that pissed me off a little bit. Even the thought of him dying made my heart clench painfully. I bit my lip, trying to keep my breathing even. He didn't die, I reminded myself. He's right here next to me. I reached over and took his hand in mine, needing some physical contact.

"I looked, just ahead of me…and there was so much light. I thought that was the whole, you know, going-into-the-light thing, and all I could think was how cliché." He sort of smiled at this, but the thought of Edward dying still had me in a bit of an unhappy mood. "And then I saw…well, I saw an angel."

I froze for a moment. An angel? How could this possibly happen? Was he hallucinating?

"It was mostly just a silhouette and it looked like she was just lying on the ground. I couldn't see any of her features of anything, but I could see the shape of her body, and I could see her hair all splayed out around her. Her arms were both spread out, like a welcome almost. And something about her…I don't know. Gave me strength. I fell asleep, but I managed to stay alive." He shook his head as the wheels began turning in my head. The light, the arms, the hair. It all led to one thing…

"I know it sounds ridiculous," he said, half smiling, turning to face me again. "But something about her gave me strength. She reminded me of you, I think."

"That's because she was me," I said after a moment, a smile spreading across my lips.

"What?" Edward asked in confusion. "You were right next to me how could you—" I cut him off, shaking my head.

"I had gotten out of the car. My cell phone had fallen out and I needed to get it to call for help. Yours was…in the pocket of your bad leg and I couldn't…" I trailed off, nearly gagging as I remembered the sharp piece of metal that had stabbed into his leg. "So I climbed out of the car and crawled over to my cell. I could see it because of the headlights. And then once I got it, I just stayed there because I was too tired to go back." Edward and I were both silent as I finished. I held my breath as I waited for him to say something, anything.

"So…you...climbed onto the ground, with your leg broken and through the…the glass and metal…to get a cell phone," Edward said slowly, and his voice had taken on a peculiar tone.

"Yeah," I said instantly. "I…you didn't look very good and I didn't know how long we had…if I had waited, the doctors said you probably would've died and it would've been all my fault!" My voice turned slightly hysterical at the end and I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"That's how you got your scars and stitches," Edward said after a moment, his voice a whisper. He reached forward and gently trailed along my cheek, just under my cheekbone. "Crawling through the glass. For me."

"I had to do it," I whispered back, just as fiercely. "I couldn't let you…" I shook my head. It was too painful to even think about.

"I can't believe you did that Bella! You could've killed yourself. I'm not worth it," Edward said, shaking his head.

"Of course you are," I said instantly. "You're worth much more than my life." Edward just shook his head, mumbling.

"Edward," I said, forcing him to look at me. "I'm happy I did that. I'm happy I saved you and if I went back, I'd do it again. It was worth it. A little pain for a lifetime of pleasure and happiness." I kissed him gently, and I felt him give in when his lips pressed back against mine, his arms pulling me closer.

"You truly are an angel Bella. You're so selfless and you always want to help everyone else and never yourself." He pulled me against his side and let me cuddle against his body, my eyelids drooping shut—I still didn't have as much energy as before, I was still sort of weak.

"I'm no angel. You are," I said sleepily. Edward just shook his head, chuckled lightly and kissed my forehead.

"You saved my life, Bella. You're my angel."

**A/N: Okay, epilogue next. Sorry, I just don't have any more ideas! Trust me though; it'll be totally squeal worthy. And the dress is gorgeous (not a wedding dress) Plus, I thought we needed a bit of fluff after all that drama, drama, drama. REVIEW!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**A/N: Okay, I'm kind of embarrassed about this, but my Fanpires deserve to know. Basically, I was on YouTube and this person who posted a Taylor Swift video said she was going to mark all Twilight comments as spam because she was sick of people commenting about Twilight on her TSwift video. So, of course, that personally offended me, and I went through all of the comments and plussed all the ones with Twilight love on them, and minused all the ones with Twilight hate on them. I feel pretty obsessed, but I am. I couldn't have anyone hating on Twilight. I also mark anti-Twilight bumper stickers on Facebook as offensive, and I spam all of the anti-Twilight comments on YouTube. Okay, sorry for my rant. Enjoy the epilogue!**

**BPOV**

_Epilogue…June, one year later_

I could barely contain my excitement as I exited the plane, being shoved along by countless other people hurrying to reach their destination. My legs were cramped from the long plane ride, but it was worth it, because I knew soon enough, I would be back home with my friends, my family…and my Edward. Just the thought of seeing him in the terminal was enough for me to pick up my speed and I hurried through the crowded airport to find him.

After the accident, Edward took a while to recover. He was in the hospital for a few weeks, and once he was home there wasn't much he could do. I didn't mind at all. I was happy to just be with him. I learned more about him in those few, intimate weeks than I had any other boy before. We spent all of our time talking, kissing, laughing, touching. It was magical and wonderful.

I was so scared to go to school. I was off to the University of Chicago and Edward was going to Dartmouth. We would be so far away from each other, we'd rarely be able to see each other, and we had to compensate with long phone calls and video chats. It was bittersweet to see his face. On one hand, I was thrilled to see his smile, his emerald eyes. On the other, it was hard being so close, and yet not being able to touch him, or feel his lips on my skin. I was scared that our summer fling would be just that—a summer fling.

But we had managed. Through a series of long weekend trips and late night calls, we managed to tough it out. It was hard, definitely. But we managed. And I couldn't be happier. If I needed anything to prove my love to Edward, and his for me, it was surviving the school year so far apart. And we had done that. Surely if we could be so far away, and still love each other so much, this had to mean something. We were something real. Something for forever, not just for now.

And of course, it wasn't just Edward I had missed. I missed all of my friends. Alice had stayed local in Seattle, and Jasper had gone close by in California—they managed to get together almost every weekend, since it was only a few hours' drive. Rosalie was at Brown and Emmett was up at Bowdoin, in Maine. They rarely saw each other, just like Edward and I, but they managed, just like we did. They had a big blowout at one point, and hadn't talked for a week. But Emmett surprised Rosalie by popping up at her school one day with a bouquet of flowers and a smile. I don't think I've ever heard Rosalie gush so much. Ren and Jacob stayed in Forks to finish off high school, Jake's senior year and Ren's junior.

Of course, we had all managed to visit each other once in a while. Christmas break was the best. For a month, the eight of us were nearly inseparable, and when Jacob and Ren had to go back to school, the six of us never left each other's side. We were desperate to spend as much time together as possible, to have enough memories and laughs and kisses to hold us over until the next time we were all together. Spring break was…awesome. We went up to Jasper's school in California and spent the week on the beach. Edward in a bathing suit…need I say more?

I finally managed to fight my way through the crowd and into the terminal, looking around for the familiar bronze hair or emerald eyes, but, clutching my carry on tightly in my slightly sweaty fist. I hadn't seen him in over a month and I was desperate for some time together. I missed him so much my chest ached for him. I didn't bother getting my bag, knowing I could get it after I gave my boyfriend a hot and heavy make out sessions.

"Bella! Bella!" I whirled around when I heard my name being shouted, but it wasn't the voice I expected to hear. It was Alice. I tried not to feel disappointed. After all, I was excited to see my best friend. I just kind of wanted to see my boyfriend more.

"Alice!" I squealed, dropping my bag and tossing my arms around her, squeezing her tightly. I hadn't seen anyone in over a month, with finals and classes and everything. It was so good to see her familiar pixie face, hear her bubbly laughter and just be with my best friend again. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too! You look slightly tanner," she said, taking a step back, holding both of my hands in hers and admiring my body. I was in just plain shorts and a tank top, since it was already warm out.

"And you look slightly taller," I teased and she laughed.

"Hey don't forget about us!" I turned around to see Rosalie, Emmett trailing behind her, my bags in his hands. Rosalie and I let out simultaneous squeals and tossed our arms around each other, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Rose! I missed you!" I squeaked. Rosalie laughed, and pulled away, beaming.

"You too! Damn it's been way too long," she said, shaking her head. I laughed in agreement before my breath was cut off by a huge, Emmett style bear hug. I wrapped my arms around the big teddy bear and hugged him back, happy to see him.

"Good to see you Emmy Bear," I teased.

"You too Klutz," he replied, laughing and squeezing me tighter before dropping me onto the floor. I nearly fell, managing to catch myself on the top of my bag. Emmett laughed loudly, causing several heads to turn in our direction, and I was sure he did it on purpose. After a few moments of catching up and exciting squealing, I finally let out the question I was dying, and yet dreading to ask.

"Where's Edward?" I asked. Alice bit her lip and exchanged a glance with Rosalie, something that instantly aroused my suspicion.

"Um, he couldn't make it. He's sorry. He had to do something with Jasper," Alice said vaguely. I felt a twinge of disappointment and hurt. Couldn't it have waited? Didn't he want to see me too?

"Oh okay," I said glumly and Alice bit her lip again.

"Come on Bella let's get home. Your parents want to see you too, but they let us have the pleasure of driving you home," Alice said, changing the subject completely. This just made me more suspicious. What were Edward and Jasper doing that I wasn't supposed to know about?

"Alright let's go," I said with mock enthusiasm, but I was sure Alice and Rosalie saw right through me. The whole way to the car, Alice chattered about school and friends she had met there, and how excited she was to have all of us back together soon. I just listened to her babble and smiled, not realizing until just then how much I missed being around Alice. Rosalie added things about her school whenever Alice took breaths, and Emmett mostly rolled his eyes and made a variety of "that's what she said" jokes that were both hilarious and annoying.

I was excited when Emmett finally pulled his jeep into my driveway. I was out of the car almost the instant the car stopped, leaving my friends in the dust as I ran inside to meet my family. We had become a lot closer since the accident—I think it guilted my mom into realizing how little she knew about me, and how little time she spent with me. I could hear Emmett yelling after me about leaving my bags on the sidewalk, but I knew he wouldn't really. The moment I got inside, I was assaulted by the sound of a barking dog.

"Gracie!" I squealed, leaning down to pick my little Parson Terrier off the ground. She thrashed wildly in my arms, still barking madly; tail thwacking back and forth, desperately trying to lick my face. I giggled as I scratched her belly, letting her lick my cheeks and peppering kissed on her soft fur. "My little baby girl," I cooed. "Momma missed you."

Gracie let out another excited bark, and I knew she missed me too.

"Gracie, shush up sweetie before you bark up a lung," Renee's chiding voice came from upstairs. Her face brightened when she saw me standing with the hyperactive dog in my arms. "Bella, sweetie you're home! I didn't expect you home so soon!"

Renee quickly skipped down the stairs, not having the lack of grace and balance I had inherited from Charlie. I placed Gracie gently on her feet and tossed myself into the arms of my mother, smiling brightly. Gracie jumped around our legs, trying to get the attention back to her as Renee and I gushed about missing each other.

"Thanks for leaving us in the dust Bella," Alice huffed as she arrived on the doorstep. Emmett and Rosalie were behind her, Emmett carrying all of my bags in his hands.

"Sorry, I was a little overexcited," I admitted sheepishly. I was the last one to be home, since my finals were a few days later than anyone else's. So they had already gotten their hellos in and I was still working on mine. "Is Dad home?"

"He's right upstairs, let me get him," Renee said excitedly and ran back up the stairs. Gracie had moved from me to Rosalie, and Rosalie had scooped her up in her arms and scratching behind her ears absentmindedly.

"Thanks for taking my bags Emmett," I said gratefully and he smirked, rolling his eyes as he dropped them on the floor.

"No problem. I got a souvenir after all." He reached behind his back and pulled something out of his back pocket. I gasped when I realized it was a pair of my underwear, a pair of lacy boy shorts.

"Emmett!" I shrieked, blushing bright red. He just laughed and flung them at me as I turned approximately the shade of a fire truck.

"Bells, you're home!" I quickly stuffed the underwear in my fist and stuck it behind my back, hiding it from my parents who were lumbering down the stairs.

"Hey Dad!" I said enthusiastically, trying to will my face to turn back to normal color. Charlie came over and hugged me and I hugged him back, casually tossing the panties behind me. Alice caught them and shoved them in her purse, giggling the whole time.

"It's great to see you back," Charlie said, pulling away.

"Thanks. It's good to be back." We stood awkwardly for a moment, since my father was never one for affection.

"How was school?" Mom asked.

"Great. I think I did good on all of my exams," I said truthfully. I had been pretty stressed out about my first set of finals, but they weren't as bad as I expected.

"Charlie, Renee, do you mind if we steal Bella away for a while? We'd like to take her out to celebrate her finally getting home," Alice asked politely.

"Sure thing sweetie," Renee answered, smiling affectionately at Alice. Alice squealed out a "Thank you!" and instantly pulled me from the room, dragging me back to the car, Emmett and Rosalie laughing as they followed behind us.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously, feeling excited. It was too good that I was finally going to be able to hang out with my friends again.

"Dinner. Come on, you'll love it! Ren and Jacob are coming! And Jasper too," Alice squeaked excitedly as Emmett pulled out of my driveway and onto the road.

"What about Edward?" I asked, disappointment clear in my voice. Alice bit her lip, giving Rosalie a look I didn't understand.

"Um, he already has plans tonight and he can't break them. He's really sorry," Rosalie answered after a moment.

"Oh." I pouted, feeling sad and a bit angry. He couldn't even be around to see me my first day back? I pulled out my cell phone and dialed his number, hoping he'd pick up.

"Hello?" he answered on the second ring.

"Hey," I said, instantly softening at the sound of his voice.

"Bella!" he said, and he sounded enthusiastic, but there was something else there, something I didn't quite understand. "How are you, love?"

"I'm home," I answered. "Can't you come see me?" My voice sounded weak and needy and I hated it. But I needed him. I needed Edward.

"I'm sorry, love." His voice was apologetic but there was an undertone of…was it nervousness? "I can't. I'd love to, but I've made other plans a while ago and I can't put it off. I'm sorry." He sounded sorry, but there was still that nervousness that I didn't understand. It made me suspicious.

"It's alright," I answered with a sigh. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, definitely," Edward answered instantly, but the nervousness was much more pronounced in his voice when he spoke this. It made my stomach drop.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then." My voice was almost awkward. I had never really felt awkward with Edward before in my life. It scared me.

"Sure thing. I love you." His voice was sincere—I couldn't doubt that he meant it.

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye." We both hung up and I turned back to my friends, my face slipping back into a pout.

"Come on Bella, cheer up! We'll have fun!" Alice chirped, trying to cheer me up. I gave her a weak smile. I missed Edward. Of course I was ecstatic to see my friends again, but I missed him so much it hurt. It hurt my chest, like there was a piece of my heart missing. Alice seemed to sense my funk and let me wallow for the few minutes it took to get to the restaurant. But the moment we were there, she was bouncing and bubbling away.

"Let's go Bella, we made reservations! The food is great and Ren and Jake have been dying to see you!" she squeaked and led me inside. It was impossible not to pick up on Alice's cheerfulness, and I found myself smiling as we made our way to the table. Jasper, Jake and Ren were all sitting down, chatting. They looked up when we made it and all of them stood up.

"Bella, it's great to see you again," Jasper said, pulling me into his arms for a quick hug.

"You too Jasper," I answered, kissing his cheek. He let me go, instantly pulling Alice into his arms and kissing her neck. I looked away jealously, only to be scooped into a giant bear hug.

"Hey Bells!"

"Hey Jake," I answered breathlessly since he was squeezing the air out of my lungs. He let me down on my feet and grinned at me. I swear he had gotten even taller.

"Jeez Jake what've you been eating? You're huge!" I noted. I only came up to his chest.

"I've been taking growth hormones," he teased and I laughed.

"What no hug for me?" Ren asked, holding her arms out. I giggled and instantly scooped her up, lifting her off of her feet a bit as I squeezed her. She laughed and squealed, pushing her way out of my grasp. "It's good to see you too!"

"I missed you all," I said excitedly. We all sat down to eat, catching up on the past few weeks. Jake and Ren told us all about the high school, and how the families' feuds seemed to have ended, and everyone was invited to all of the parties, just like it should be. Alice talked about how she had met some famous designer who was looking into her designs to sell at his boutiques. It was exciting to catch up with everyone. I even felt myself gushing about how I had started my first novel.

Dinner ended too soon for my taste, and I was dropped off at home by Emmett. I waved goodbye to everyone and made my way inside, feeling tired. Gracie came yapping up to me the moment I entered, so I scooped her into my arms to sleep in my bed tonight. Charlie was sitting on the couch, looking grumpy, and barely noticed my entrance.

"What?" he said after I had greeted him. "Oh, hey Bells."

"What's up? You seem…a little angry," I noted cautiously. Charlie grumbled something.

"You'll find out later I suppose," he sighed. "But I don't want to tell you. Night Bells."

"Night," I answered, wondering what on Earth he could be talking about. I went upstairs and climbed into bed. I tried to call Edward, but he didn't answer. I let Gracie curl up next to me, gratefully letting sleep overcome me.

The next morning I woke up late, still tired from a series of nightmares, all of them featuring Edward breaking up with me in some shape or form. It hurt every time. It seemed my subconscious was trying to tell me what my waking mind couldn't comprehend.

Edward was going to break up with me.

It seemed like the only logical explanation. He didn't come pick me up, he didn't come out to dinner, he sounded nervous when I talked to him on the phone and he didn't answer when I called again. What else could it be? He was worried about breaking up with me. I felt tears sting my eyes and I pushed them away.

I can't be sad, I told myself firmly. I had a wonderful year with him. It's more than I could've asked for. It was wonderful and magical and it'll always be the best time of my life. I just couldn't understand how he said he loved me if he really didn't. If he was going to break my heart.

"Bella! Time to get ready!" I shot up to see Alice standing in front of me, a giant boutique bag in her hands. She tossed it on the floor and literally yanked me out of bed as Rosalie followed along behind her, chuckling at Alice's wild antics.

"Take a shower," Rosalie commanded.

"Why?" I asked, pouting again. I wanted to wallow in my self-misery if they didn't mind.

"Because, my parents are throwing a party tonight and you need to get ready," Alice said simply. "Shower so we can do your hair and make-up. I already brought you a dress."

"Do I have to? I'm not really in the mood to party tonight," I sighed, thinking again of my impending just-been-dumped status.

"Just do it Bella," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "You'll be happy by the time the nights over."

"Only because it's over," I grumbled, making my way into the bathroom. I took a long, hot shower, only letting a few tears escape, not wanting to have red, puffy eyes to explain to Rosalie and Alice. I got out of the shower and dried myself off carefully, pulling on underwear, a bra and a big t-shirt. I made my way back outside and Alice shoved me in front of my vanity, turning me to face her. She began pulling my hair into curlers, tongue between her teeth in concentration. I just let her do what she wanted, knowing the less I complained, the shorter it would take.

"There," Alice said, clipping the last curler into place. "Put the dress on, but don't look in the mirror, and then come back out here so Rose can do your make-up," Alice instructed. I did as she said, pulling on the peach colored puffy dress and walking back into the room, being careful not to look at myself. I sat back down and Rosalie began attacking my face with make-up. Alice was pulling the curlers out and spraying hairspray. It seemed like forever when they finally announced they were done.

"Keep your eyes closed," Rosalie instructed in a whisper. They spun my chair around as I obediently kept my eyes closed. They helped me stand up, each of them holding an arm.

"Okay," Alice whispered, her voice bubbling with excitement. "Open."

What I saw amazed me.

I looked beautiful. No, I looked much more than beautiful. I looked positively gorgeous. The dress was amazing. It was a lovely peach color; the neckline was an intricate design of silver beading that showed off a generous amount of cleavage. The sleeves were just wispy pieces of fabric connected the back of the dress to the front, also engraved with silver beading. The top part of the dress was tight with criss-crossing pieces of fabric that looked wonderful, until it hit my waist and flared out in a princess type skirt, with pieces of beading scattered. I spun around to examine the back, and it tied down from just under my chest to my waist with a piece of peach string, tied at the bottom in a bow. It was simply…perfect. **(Picture on profile. Check it out, this dress is impossible to describe. Plus it made me want to keep Edward alive!)**

My hair and make-up were done to perfect as well. My hair fell down in loose banana curls and Alice had clipped some pieces back with a thick, silver broach like clip. My make-up was all warm browns and subtle pinks, only enhancing. The browns brought out my eyes and the dress made the pinks more pronounced, making my face look beautiful. I was speechless as I examined myself in the mirror.

"I love you guys," I gushed once I had found my words again. "It's perfect. I look…"

"Amazing?" Alice suggested.

"Sexy?" Rosalie added.

"Great," I finished lamely. "Thank you!" I hugged them both, before realizing something and jumping back with a gasp. "What about you guys? You're not ready!"

"Don't worry, we can get ready quick," Alice promised. "Just go and we'll meet you there. Plus, your chariot awaits." Alice gestured out of the window and I ran to it, loving the swishing off my dress. Outside, parked just in front of my house, was a horse drawn carriage.

"Oh my God!" I shrieked, running downstairs at top speed, thankfully not breaking my neck. I ran straight to the carriage, admiring it. It was white with golden designs, and the horses were both huge and white. A man was sitting just behind the horses, their reins in his hands, dressed in a suit. He climbed down and held out his arm for me, opening the door to the carriage and helping me in. I felt giddy. I could hear the driver give a light command to the horses and we began trotting away.

I turned and stuck myself halfway out of the window and waved. Rosalie and Alice were waiting just by my door, waving back, both of them with awe in their eyes. I felt like a princess waving to her subjects. I pulled myself back in after a moment—the ride was pretty bumpy and I didn't want to fall out—and I realized how many people were watching. There were children chasing along after us, yelling about the horsies and princesses. There were adults hanging out of their doors, jaws dropped and eyes wide, everyone trying to figure out who was inside. I kept hidden, only occasionally peeking outside to see where we were going.

The cart finally stopped when we reached a huge hall that I recognized. It was the same hall my parents had thrown their ball in last year. The same place I had met Edward. I nearly teared up, but I knew I would ruin my make-up. I didn't know whether I should climb out or not, but my question was answered when the door was opened for me. The driver stood outside, arm held out. I took it and he helped me down. I noticed a large amount of people were gathered, some even with cameras. It wasn't everyday you saw a horse-drawn carriage carrying a girl in a ball gown down the streets of Washington.

"Thank you," I told the driver, and he tipped his hat to me. I gently patted one of the horses—they were huge!—and made my way over to the building.

There was a large sign on the door with a simple arrow pointing upwards. I opened the door and saw the entire stairwell was covered with red rose petals. I could barely see the floors it was so covered. I held onto the railing as I climbed the flight of stairs, being careful and looking upwards, trying to see what was in store for me. The huge metal door was shut when I reached the top, so I gently pushed it open.

The room was decorated lavishly, almost exactly the way it was for my parents' party. There was a band playing classical music in one of the corners and tables set up all around, along with a huge dance floor in the middle. The rose petals continued, clearly laying out the path I was supposed to go on. The room was dimly lit, the lights having been turned down, and it was dark outside. The petals lead to the balcony. I slid the door open and stepped outside.

"You look absolutely exquisite Bella." I lit up at the sound of his voice and half ran to him. He was leaning against the edge of the balcony, a crooked smile on his lips and a suit on his body. He looked unbelievably sexy in his black suit, with a tie that matched my dress (Alice's work I was sure.) I tossed myself into his arms, inhaling his scent and burying my face in his neck. I placed kisses on his neck and jaw where I could, not wanting to move my arms away from him. I pulled away after a moment, just staring into his face.

"You look pretty dashing yourself," I murmured, and he grinned, leaning forward to press his lips to mine. I instantly melted into his mouth, my tongue sliding out to meet his and my fingers twining in his hair. I was breathless when I pulled away.

"You did all this?" I asked, gesturing to the ballroom behind us. He nodded sheepishly.

"I wanted tonight to be special. How was the carriage?"

"It was amazing! People were staring everywhere! I felt like a princess," I admitted with a giggle.

"You are a princess," Edward said, pulling me into his arms. "My princess." I swooned. I felt like one of those girls you see in the movies who faint with their hands pressed to their foreheads whenever the hot boy walks by.

"I love you," I whispered, pressing my lips against his again.

"I love you too," he whispered back. When he pulled away, he sighed, wrapping his arm around my waist and tilting his head to look up. I looked up with him, noticing the stars in the sky were clearer than I'd ever seen them.

"Bella, can I have this dance?" Edward asked, and I realized the band had struck up another number and were standing just outside of the balcony. I giggled and nodded. I took a step back and Edward walked to me. He had a slight limp in his step from the injury in his leg, but other than that, he was perfect. He gathered me in his arms and we began to twirl to the music, his injury not even affecting his flawless dancing. When I wasn't looking at his face, I was looking at the stars, twirling, whirling, mixing like millions of tiny diamonds, twinkling, winking down at me.

"This is perfect Edward," I murmured, resting my head against his chest. "All of it."

"I'm glad," Edward said, pressing his lips to my head. I looked up again, stalling my motions.

"You know, I was kind of worried when you didn't show up to pick me up yesterday," I whispered, softly, almost silently. "And then you didn't come out with us that night. I just…I don't know. I felt so…alone I guess. I was waiting for you to come, but you never did." I felt almost shameful admitting my weaknesses, but Edward seemed understanding, and I felt like he had to know. Edward sighed guiltily, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"There is a reason I couldn't pick you up yesterday Bella, or be with you last night." Edward sighed and pulled his arms away, and for a moment, I thought he was going to break up with me. My insecurities came rushing forward in an instant and tears stung my eyes. How could he do all of this just to dump me? But then Edward lowered himself onto one knee and my tears froze.

"There's not much I'm sure of in this world Bella. I know that life can be over as quickly as it began, and the accident last summer proved that. I know that the sun will rise in the morning, and set in the evening, and I know the stars will always be there, shining, even when I can't see them. And I know I love you Bella. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to spend my forever with you, I want to have our once upon a time and our happily ever after. I want us to have our love story, Bella." His voice was soft and warm and nervous and loving all at once. Tears were stinging my eyes again, but for a completely different reason. "Marry me Bella?" he asked simply, pulling out a velvet box with a simple, old-fashioned ring inside.

"Yes," I squeaked, unable to say anything else. Edward pulled the ring from the box and slid it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit.

"What about Renee? Charlie?"

"I already talked to your dad. Last night. That's why I couldn't come out. I asked Alice to get you out of the house so I could ask your parents," Edward explained in a breathless and excited voice. That explains why he was so grumpy, I thought with a giggle. "Everything is basically taken care of. Alice wants to take over the plans. All you need to do is pick out a white dress and everything is all set." I giggled again and tossed myself into his arms.

"I love you," I whispered, kissing him everywhere I could reach. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

Edward laughed breathlessly and began to twirl me in his arms again, spinning me and whirling me until the sky was just blurs, and the untouchable diamond stars were close enough to kiss.

_~Marry me Juliet you'll never have to be alone~_

_~I love you and that's all I really know~_

_~I talked to your dad go pick out a white dress~_

_~It's a love story baby just say yes~_

**A/N: Okay, yes the song was "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. How did you guys like the epilogue? And a few of my stories are nominated down at the Twilight awards, so vote for them please! Also!!! I am looking for a beta for a new story I'm working on. It's third person POV which is different for me, so I'd like some help from a beta. Anyone interested, please contact me! REVIEW!!!**


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